Husky Rescue Article

[j]

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/dogs-born-to-run-with-a-rare-breed/2250214.aspx

 News  Local News  News  General  Dogs born to run with a rare breed 

Dogs born to run with a rare breed

ROSSLYN BEEBY

06 Aug, 2011 09:37 AM

At photographer Marcus Fillinger’s rural home studio, mixing the dogs’ dinner and delivering it out on cue is a precision operation.

About 30 stainless steel food bowls wait to be filled with a home-made mix of vegetables, fresh meat and dried dog food. And once the dogs hear the first tell-tale clink of bowls being moved on the kitchen bench, a cacophonous wall of canine sound erupts. It’s a pack of hungry huskies, singing for their supper.

‘‘They’re sociable dogs, so it’s one in, all in,’’ he says.

Mr Fillinger and partner Shannon Mortlock run a rescue shelter for dumped huskies – dogs surrendered to city pounds by owners who find the naturally boisterous breed too much of a handful and too costly to feed. Mr Fillinger estimates he spends about $140 a day to feed the pack at his Alphadog shelter near Michelago. ‘‘They’re bred to run, with energy to burn and need a healthy diet,’’ he says.

Mr Fillinger, an elite athlete who holds the world record for a solo Arctic ice dive, developed an affinity for huskies while training in Norway and Alaska. Now, he’s preparing for another endurance challenge – a 1000km trek across the Alaskan wilderness to draw attention to animal welfare issues related to some commercial dog sled races and dog sled tourism.

While training with dogs in the Arctic, he was approached to compete in sled races in the United States, but pulled out when he heard stories of dogs being killed and mistreated. He was angered by video footage showing dogs that died after becoming entangled and dragged while sledders seemed oblivious to their plight. ‘‘I want to show you can run dogs at their own pace, and enjoy the experience,’’ he says.

Mr Fillinger will travel with Melbourne vet Malcolm Ware, using a team of 12 huskies – a pack of eight sledders, with four reserve dogs – selected from US animal shelters.

‘‘We’ll take death-row dogs, and train them up to do the run.’’ Mr Fillinger met Dr Ware while working as a wildlife rescue volunteer in the weeks after the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.

[k9angel]

I have spoken to Marcus on several occassions and he has so many interesting stories to tell. They do a fantastic job with their dogs and it's not hard to see how much they love them.

[Little Gifts]

Have you ever done any sledding with yours Rach? We did it a few times with my sister's dog and what I loved the most was how excited the dogs would all be, howling in the dawn waiting their turn to run. Of course it was through a green forest and the sleds and bikes all had wheels. I never saw one altercation between the dogs either. So I can't imagine how exciting it would be to see it happening on the snow with all the teams lined up busting to go.

[bonniek]

What an amazing person this man is.........

Giving this unique breed the oppurtunity it so deserves, Thank you for sharing.

[whiskedaway]

Fantastic article.

Have gone sledding once with my girl and she loved it. She just wanted to go go go and she was so excited as the other teams started and it got to our turn.

[j]

There were a series of photos in relation to this article further in the paper.

This link will take you to all the other pics http://www.canberratimes.com.au/multimedia/26590/297145/