“You didn’t expand on the dogs,” S said to me after reading the novel that was the cottage recap post.

She was referring to the dogs we had seen chained to hollowed out barrels along the road towards the cottage. When K arrived, we asked her what she made of the situation; she thought that it was a veal farm. It wasn’t until P joined us on Monday that we learned that they were sled dogs. P saw the sign that the rest of us missed announcing that they were sled dogs.

“I don’t care if it’s a legitimate business,” S began, “it’s not right for those dogs to be chained up like that.”

When we went into town on the Friday, we drove by slowly and had another look. Each barrel was on these tables that stood about three feet off of the ground. The barrels were completely hollow, with each side crudely cut out. Every dog had about two feet of leash and were confined to the space around their barrel.

We noticed the business sign and a group of sleds lined up alongside the edge of the property. I don’t know if the dogs were to be used in competition or to get people around during the winter. I didn’t think that the winters up north were so bad that they required sled dogs. What is this, 1880? When we went into the local small town, we saw pick-up trucks and four-wheeled drive vehicles everywhere. Surely those are enough to help get people around during the snow months?

A quick look online shows that sledding is quite popular; especially the racing aspect of it. Still, it was heart-breaking to see those dogs chained up and sleeping in those barrels.

No related posts.