Red Letter Day
“Are we proud of our association with Snowhook Kennel or what?” Spence says. “Here’s news from Rebecca about the Northern Lights 300 – “
“Love that name,” says Admin.
” – rewards dinner.”
The awards dinner for the race was Monday evening. There was the expected—mushers receiving a certificate of completion starting from the last place musher and progressing to the winner, and the telling of humorous tales from the trail. Then, there was the unexpected. AJ missed being in the money by one place; the purse paid out to the first four mushers. What we didn’t know and certainly didn’t expect was that for his fifth place finish, AJ received his entrance fee paid in full for the 2014 Tustumena 200. Wow!
Yet, now for the truly unexpected and by far the bigger honor. AJ was presented the Rich Allen ‘For the Love of Dogs’ award for exceptional dog care. We were stunned. The dogs’ care has been our priority from our beginning into the sport of mushing, and words can not express how honored and humbled we are with this award. This isn’t the first time AJ’s received an award of this kind. In 2011, he received the Humanitarian Award in the Don Bowers Memorial Sled Dog Race which he won that same year as well as the next; the Humanitarian Award was by far the bigger honor than any first place finish.
Here’s Justin receiving the award, which includes 500 booties.
Tags: Justin Savidis, mushers, Northern Lights 300, Rebecca, Snowhook Kennel
This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 29th, 2013 at 8:59 am and is filed under Chet The Dog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.
9:05 am on January 29th, 2013
That is a well deserved award. Congratulations AJ and Rebecca.
Good morning all.
9:15 am on January 29th, 2013
Wow! What. Great night you had.
9:29 am on January 29th, 2013
Good Morning!
Congratulations AJ and Rebecca! Whoooohooooo!!!!
9:30 am on January 29th, 2013
Dancing and twirling here (and Mom is crying happy tears)! What a fantastic team. Snowhook really does us proud.
Kat was picked up by Luna early this morning and is busy eating yogurt right now.
9:31 am on January 29th, 2013
Clap clap clap clap!
9:42 am on January 29th, 2013
Goal!…This means we reached our Goal of 2000 Booties!….Woooooo!Hoooooo!…And my pug chest is just bursting with pride over our team. We sure know how to pick’em, don’t we?….TWIRRRRRRLLLLINNNGGG!…snort!
9:57 am on January 29th, 2013
Alaska!…A few fun facts I’ve garnered just from looking at the photo above…sniff!…In Alaska awards are shaped like boxes…heh!…Who’d have guessed? Also, if AJ is a Giant, and we all know how tall he is, just imagine how tall that guy on the right side of photo might be…wheeze!
9:57 am on January 29th, 2013
Go Snowhook! AJ is a Giant in many ways, loving dog care being first and foremost. Congratulations, you do us mighty proud!
LizF: Yikes! Stay safe in the down-under.
10:06 am on January 29th, 2013
Rio: The guy on the right is AJ. Heh!
10:16 am on January 29th, 2013
And the box probably contains the booties.
10:21 am on January 29th, 2013
Giant!…Well the caption on the photo is very misleading then…grunt!…Also, the little guy sort of looks like AJ. I’ve never seen the Giant with so much hair before…heh!
10:25 am on January 29th, 2013
Rio, Maybe he is growing his hair long so it will keep him warm on the trail. I want to know if those booties are black or some other neon green color. Heh.
I suppose they are black darn it.
Rebecca did you order booties yet or will you be able to figure this prize into your ordering strategy?
Yeep.
10:36 am on January 29th, 2013
We are so Proud of AJ!!! Sniff.
500 Booties! Bonus.
Thinking of Barb & Maggie this morning and sending Prayers & Hugs. She will be so happy to have a brand new knee, free of pain.
Staff: You are another Plunderer with a lot on your plate right now. We were very worried to read that your dad had fallen again. Thank Dog there were no broken bones.
10:36 am on January 29th, 2013
The bus is picking us up at the curb in ten minutes. One of the perks of living in a small town and knowing the bus driver. It is -27F today. That’s plenty cold for me.
10:45 am on January 29th, 2013
Dawson: Don’t be sending any of that cold my way.
10:56 am on January 29th, 2013
Just heard the news! Got my top hat, white tie and tails and DANCING with my cane!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZOJoV6H2UM
10:59 am on January 29th, 2013
Knobby-Knees!…When is Barb going under the knife this morning?…sniff!…Maybe it is all over and she is in recovery already…wuffle!
11:09 am on January 29th, 2013
Melanie: What a Great video. Those were the days.
11:11 am on January 29th, 2013
Rio: I don’t know…how early do they do surgeries? She left for the hospital at 5:30 am after an early morning post.
11:57 am on January 29th, 2013
Clapping, whirling, twirling, Happy Corgi Dancing!
Congratulations to both AJ and Rebecca – they are a team after all, and a large part of that humanitarian and Love of Dogs thing comes from TBDHW. We know AJ takes exceptional care of his dogs in training and on races, and we also know that Rebecca takes exceptional care with bellies, and hugs and dog chores.
We tip our hats to you. (we would bow, but hey, we’re short Corgis – no one would notice)
12:03 pm on January 29th, 2013
Siber – our cousin Neville (you remember him from the Big Wedding, right?) sent us his debut video. Is THIS what the two of you were off in the corner whispering so mysteriously about? You bad doggies!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tNS_29hEkrw
12:13 pm on January 29th, 2013
I think that Barb’s surgery was from 8 to 11 AM Central Time.
12:18 pm on January 29th, 2013
Thanks, B.
12:24 pm on January 29th, 2013
Old Money Corgis vs Iditarod Bound Sibers. Heh.
12:25 pm on January 29th, 2013
Way to go Snowhook!
12:26 pm on January 29th, 2013
We are still at the hospital. The original plan was for Dr. Sam to be in the operating room so we could keep a close but disguised eye on Barb. At the last minute, I had a thought. I, in all my canine glory, approached the surgeon while he was scrub-a-dub-dubbing up for the surgery. I took a firm paw with him, told him who we were, how important and special Barb is to us. In the end we had a nice conversation, made even better when I convinced him to remove all the charges for the extra jello from Barb’s bill. He said he will do his best to give us the full access to Barb’s care, but we may have to be in disquise from time to time because others are not as open minded as he is.
Before entering the OR, we all wonderfluffed with special soap surgeons use, put on masks and several hair nets each (except for Sammie) and were with Barb throughout the surgery. I won’t tell you about the tools we saw in the OR, but they look very similar to the Giant’s power tools.
And, how about the team’s big night? I am so proud of AJ. I taught him everything I know about canine care and it seems he paid attention throughout the lessons.
Rio: Dawson is correct. AJ is the man on the right. The other man, was the fellow musher. He held the box of 500 booties as he talked about the dog care observed by he and the vets on the race. When he was done speaking he handed over the very valuable box to AJ.
12:27 pm on January 29th, 2013
Barb and Maggie, thinking about you both.
Smoochers, any updates?
12:27 pm on January 29th, 2013
Rappers!…SiberH and Tupper really know how to Rappity-Rap…heh!heh!
12:55 pm on January 29th, 2013
sniff, We are super proud of Snowhook!!!
Congratulations to AJ, Rebecca, and the dogs!
5000 Booties!! Yippie!! That is what I call a useful prize.
I am going to watch the video now.
1:08 pm on January 29th, 2013
T&G Thanks! Love the video! It is funny and cute. We will watch it more than once.
They got one thing wrong about us Sibers…we never belonged to the Inuit people.
1:11 pm on January 29th, 2013
Siber-H: 5,000 Booties…We wish!
1:19 pm on January 29th, 2013
Oh dear, Bear…typo
1:44 pm on January 29th, 2013
Siber – we think they call that poetic license.
(besides which, do ANY sibers belong to ANY person? Or, like Kats, do you just honor them with your presence?)
1:48 pm on January 29th, 2013
Booties in stock for the next 3 years! Personally, I like Siber-H’s typo.
1:50 pm on January 29th, 2013
Herbs, Mom is laughing, but that is am accurate description of us.
2:17 pm on January 29th, 2013
Yawn, the last few days and nights are catching up with me. Whew, think I’ll nap again.
To save time, can AJ put like 8 sets of booties on each dog so he just has to tear them off when they wear out?
2:26 pm on January 29th, 2013
Way to go, Snowhook!! We are so proud and thrilled that others took note of AJ’s special talent with the dogs.
Hope all is well with Barb. Have heard it’s a hard recovery but worth it in the end.
Staff, sorry about your dads fall. Glad you had him checked out at the hospital. Sometimes there can be hidden damage.
Mom and Dad are at the hospital for followup MRI. Say some prayers for Dad that there is no return of the cancer.
2:52 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBer, Prayers for your dad. Please let us know>
2:57 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBear, strong prayers for continued good health for your dad and big love and hugs to you all. Please keep us updated.
3:33 pm on January 29th, 2013
Rebecca, I just made an online donation to Snowhook to honor all my most recent pledges for different funds.
3:34 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBear: Sending Prayers your way for your dad’s continuing Good Health.
Melanie: Hope you are able to get some uninterrupted rest.
3:35 pm on January 29th, 2013
Siber-H: Thank you for the reminder.
3:55 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus & BooBear’s Dad: As my nephew’s tee-shirt says, “Cancer Sucks”. May yours never come back.
SnowBella, please check SDD. Am going back to doing nothing.
4:06 pm on January 29th, 2013
I called Kelly to see how Barb is doing but it went to voice mail. I’ve left a message. I’m meeting friends for dinner and a movie so I won’t be able to call again until tomorrow. If anyone else has Kelly’s phone number and can call her please do so.
5:01 pm on January 29th, 2013
I am tired of answering the phone.
5:04 pm on January 29th, 2013
Excellent job AJ & Team. Abundant booties and other suprises. Yay.
Prayer with G&BB’s dad and mom and Barb and Maggie and anyone stressed about anything.
Dad leaves tomorrow for FL on business. Monkey business, I think ’cause he’ll be on a golf course. Mom leaves tomorrow to visit her maid of honor from many moons ago, who just happens to be a fine arts prof and Mom gets to visit her classes.
I like my cat sitter, but I wish the parental units would just stay home. Later, ‘gators.
5:10 pm on January 29th, 2013
Melanie!…What’s your phone number? I need to call you!…snort!snort!
5:13 pm on January 29th, 2013
Great news, guys! No sign of returning cancer! Will continue with treatment of oral chemo (one week out of the month) for a year. We are jazzed!!! Hope Barb’s surgery went well.
5:20 pm on January 29th, 2013
Hip hip hurrah for G& GB’s dad!
5:26 pm on January 29th, 2013
Puss N’ Boots!…It is a Red Letter Day for sure!….chuffle!
5:32 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBear, Smiling when I read your post. Yippie!!!
5:44 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBear: Hurray!!! This is a Good News Day indeed.
5:54 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus&BooBear, I’m skipping and twirling for your dad! Great news!!!
6:12 pm on January 29th, 2013
Us too! Twirling here for G&BB’s dad! Hurray!
Hope to get good news of Barb’s surgery real soon.
Staff, we worry about your dad, but we really worry about you too. Take care of yourself.
We would like to hear more about who chooses and how they judge the dog care award. We are so darn happy that OUR TEAM is #1 for caring for the team.
And in case anyone has forgotten, Louisa Mae completed that race in 2nd team and we are raising funds to sponsor her. Email Mom with whatever pledge you can manage, even though we know all of youse have been giving to the Bootie fund, and the Feed the Giant fund, and the Checkpoints, and Twig, Orion, Charlie Rio Jr., and Quigley. Just remember how proud we will be of our team, including Little Louisa Mae come Nome!
6:36 pm on January 29th, 2013
Dr. Sam here reporting outside Barb’s room. I told them she needed a soft boiled egg. It was delicious.
6:39 pm on January 29th, 2013
Kat here. I am so embarrassed. I keep splorting on this here hospital floor. Luna thinks maybe I ate too much yogurt.
6:47 pm on January 29th, 2013
Wookie is up top!!!
And Kat rushed out so fast this morning, she must have forgotten her avatar. Now we are worried about her splorting.
6:49 pm on January 29th, 2013
More jello anyone?
7:01 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gus and Boo- just wanted you to know that we have been praying for these good results
7:17 pm on January 29th, 2013
HerbKats: And which lovely are you?
7:24 pm on January 29th, 2013
Kats!….I thought the Herb Kats were green…snort!
7:34 pm on January 29th, 2013
Herbs, I was going to ask the same question Bear did, but he beat me to it. Mom says that is a good thing.
That picture of Louisa Mae should bring in the big bucks. How can any of us resist that winsome face.
7:36 pm on January 29th, 2013
SiberH!…Winsome??…heh!snort!heh!
7:45 pm on January 29th, 2013
I told Kat to leave to yogurt alone and try some Jello.
7:47 pm on January 29th, 2013
We think she is winsome.
win·some
/ˈwinsəm/
Adjective
Attractive or appealing in appearance or character.
Synonyms
engaging – attractive – fetching – charming – winning
7:57 pm on January 29th, 2013
Siber and Bear – that Wrotten Kat is Basil. He is the one that is all beauty but just a little light in the brains department.
8:04 pm on January 29th, 2013
Hi there, every buddy! Annie here! It is my Birthday! Mama calls it mother’s day. I don’t get the joke, but whatevs!
Fine, dear, now go play. Macy here regaining control of the keyboard. Sorry to be absent so long but mom was spending so much time splorting and visiting the little room that she never got around to turning on the computer. Dad says that he knows that mom is really sick if she doesn’t get on the computer.
WTG Snowhook. We feel like we missed so much even though it was only a couple of days. Best of wishes to all, and prayers for good health.
We chortled over fruit of his looms too.
8:09 pm on January 29th, 2013
Dad said to tell all of you how much he appreciates all the prayers and support from the plunderers whether 2 legged or 4 legged! It was a nerve wracking day waiting to talk to the doctor. But the great news was worth the wait!!
Did anyone else get Kelly’s number so we can find out about Barb? Poor Maggie is probably very confused.
8:15 pm on January 29th, 2013
Just received a text from Masquers. Dr. Sam and the Smoochers report Barb is doing Great. Better than expected in fact. More updates in the morning. Wooooo.
8:15 pm on January 29th, 2013
I emailed Kelly and asked her to let me know how Barb was doing. I sent it around 6 and haven’t heard back from her. I will let you know as soon as she replies.
8:20 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gah!…burp!…another wonderful creation from mother tonight…gurgle!
8:21 pm on January 29th, 2013
Hi Macy! Tell your mom she can quit splorting now. Kat is taking over.
8:26 pm on January 29th, 2013
Staff: Please check your SDD.
8:31 pm on January 29th, 2013
Happy Birthday to Annie!!!
Hope Basil was not offended at being called “lovely” and “winsome”.
Rio: What was on the menu tonight?
8:37 pm on January 29th, 2013
Winsome!…It’s a word I never expected the likes of SiberH to use to describe anybody…snort!heh!…And just so you get your cards straight Bear, he was talking about Louisa Mae not a green Kat…grunt!burp!
8:43 pm on January 29th, 2013
Melanie!…So how is Clarkson doing these days?…sniff!…I think about him a lot and worry that he is not tip-top yet…wheeze! burp!
8:45 pm on January 29th, 2013
Rio: Seeing my error and hitting the submit button happened simultaneously. That’s always the way.
8:46 pm on January 29th, 2013
Happy Birthday Annie!!
Oh Yeah, I was most definately describing the dog.
Mom thinks the kat is very handsome. whatever
8:51 pm on January 29th, 2013
We need $$$$ for The Winsome One.
8:55 pm on January 29th, 2013
$$$$’s!….Well, don’t forget I need $$$$’s to feed the long lanky one who won all the Awards last night. That guy who loves us guys!…snort!…How about it folks? The SDD in-box has been very empty lately…groan!
9:14 pm on January 29th, 2013
Its true. I AM lovely, and handsome and winsome. (ummm…what does “winsome” mean? Sage says winsome, lose some, but I think he’s just showing off)
Happy birthday Annie. Get better MAcy’s Mom.
9:22 pm on January 29th, 2013
Kats!…Get over yerselves and tell us how Golinka is fairing today…sniff!…We know she’s been very down’n out lately so an update would be appreciated…grunt!
9:30 pm on January 29th, 2013
Bedtime here folks. Will be thinking of Barb and hoping she is well and pain-free.
Nighty Louisa Mae. heh heh
9:49 pm on January 29th, 2013
Yes, I forgot to say Happy Birthday to Annie also. I am such an easily distracted person. Especially lately. But I am getting really really good at Fishdom. No end in site.
Does anyone else choose their fish by refusing to buy the big fat expensive ones in the dull colors? It takes FOREVER to fill you fish quota without them. Maybe next time I will just take one of each. Sigh. They really are ugly!
9:55 pm on January 29th, 2013
Staff!…Sadly, I have tried to download the full version of the game, but my computer does not like it…grunt!…Can you tell me which download you are using?…wheeze!
10:18 pm on January 29th, 2013
Must..stay..awake..for…Justified.
10:18 pm on January 29th, 2013
Rio – as long as we are getting our catnip, we don’t pay too much attention to her. She’s just acting like one of the dam dogs and hanging around the house all day.
How’re we supposed to get ahold of the packing tape and a cardboard box if she won’t leave?
And tell your friend to check her SDD
10:22 pm on January 29th, 2013
Let me see…what can I do for the next three hours…go into the Kingdom of Fish?
10:23 pm on January 29th, 2013
Staff – Mama is up to level 257. But all her tanks are jam packed with plants and fish. What do you do about “over shopping”? Or do you just let the money pile up? (Wish we could donate THAT money to Snowhook)
10:33 pm on January 29th, 2013
We’ve been thinking about Barb and hope that all is well. Glad that the Smoochers are on the job!
We are playing Frosty Fish, with a holiday theme. There are no ugly fish.
Good news, G&BB’s dad!
And Happy Birthday to Annie and Happy Mother’s Day to Miss Macy!
10:40 pm on January 29th, 2013
Mystery!… I’ve got someone on the fish-hook who says they will match the next 25.00 that is donated to Feed The Giant….wooooo!
11:03 pm on January 29th, 2013
Feed The Giant Match? Hmmm…any sentence that has a reference to Food in it gets my attention!
11:20 pm on January 29th, 2013
Gah! One hour and 40 minutes to go.
11:22 pm on January 29th, 2013
Bear!…He just donated to Feed the Giant! After having a snack, of course!…heh!heh!…Thanks Bear! Thanks also to a matching donor!…Wooooo!…We are truly close to having another winner now…wheeze!
11:30 pm on January 29th, 2013
Note!…On that nice note I say Goodnight!…snorkel!…I’m sure Beau has our bedroom all gassed up by now…gah!
11:33 pm on January 29th, 2013
Rio, My fishdom is from Playrix entertainment.
Basil, I have started new identities so I can play the game starting from the beginning. I think I am on my 6th identity. After a while I started numbering them. Hmmmm Maybe I am on my 8th.
And sometimes I sell back things I am bored with or if the aquarium gets too full. heh. My favorite are the little purple fish that come in a group and the big orange one who swims funny.
Rio, check your SDD, in a minute.
11:35 pm on January 29th, 2013
From Kelly, Barb’s daughter:
Hi Nancy, It’s been a busy day. My Mother’s knee replacement went well. She was in good spirits and feeling no pain this afternoon. The nerve block they gave her in her leg will wear off tomorrow, and I expect she will be feeling worse for a couple days. I will try to bring my ipad with tomorrow, and hopefully we will have service in her room and she can blog! All of the thoughts and prayers from her “Chet” friends have meant so much to her, thank you! Kelly
11:49 pm on January 29th, 2013
Xlnt news re: knee.
Nite
11:52 pm on January 29th, 2013
Staff: Thank you so much for the update from Kelly. We can’t wait to hear from them tomorrow!
(whispering) hope the Smoochers aren’t eating all her snacks.
11:54 pm on January 29th, 2013
We are off to read until our 10 pm show.
Good Night All – Bear
12:08 am on January 30th, 2013
Okay, I can rest easy now that Barb is accounted for.