Husky News

John Michael Munro knew by the age of 7 that he wanted to race dogs when he got his first Siberian husky.

When his carpenter father built him his first sled, that clinched it.

The 14-year-old Austinburg Township boy’s goal is to one day have a team of dogs that qualifies for the Iditarod — the highly competitive, 1,161-mile, multi-day race in Alaska.

On Sunday, the young musher took steps toward reaching that goal, placing first in the four-dog novice class at the 2nd Annual Dryland Challenge Sled Dog Race at Lake Metroparks Farmpark in Kirtland.

“You have to commit to train hard,” John said after he and his dogs completed a 2-mile run in 7 minutes and 58 seconds.

More than 50 teams from as far away as North Carolina competed Saturday and Sunday at the Farmpark — double that of last year just by word of mouth, said co-organizer Gary Callaghan of Madison Township.

Although the 40-degree windy weather felt chilling to the human bystanders, it is not unusual for dogs to race in below-30-degree weather, organizers said.

Now retired from the sport, Callaghan raced for 29 years, traveling to places including Colorado, Wisconsin, British Columbia, New York and Pennsylvania for whiter pastures.

“This event is great because you can still have fun without snow,” he said of the Dryland competitions.

“People with one or two dogs can have a great time here too. You don’t need a whole kennel.”

Callaghan knows what he’s talking about.

At his last race in March, he and his team of Alaskan husky-German short hair crosses came in second in their class — in Alaska.

“We also took third in the Race of Champions. That ticked off a few Canadians,” he said with a laugh.

Denise Gressley, the Dryland coordinator, joked the event was so fun for her that she planned to compete next year with her poodles.

Callaghan said even though certain breeds of dogs are better equipped to race sleds, any type has the potential if the animal is willing to try.

“You have to bond with the dog and get him to trust you,” he advised.

“Then you work on your commands. You can take this sport as far as you want to go. We’ve won many gold medals over the years.”

Oddly enough, Callaghan said he really can’t stand cold weather.

Source: The News Herald