How It All Started: Photos of the "A" litter

    Like most people, I took a bunch of photos of my first litter. As time went on, I sorted through a lot of them but it's hard to resist cute puppy photos...

The parents - Moonbeam and Nanook:

 

    I missed the birth, which was in the middle of the night. Moonbeam gave no hints that she was going to have pups that evening but she did great without any help (as most sled dogs do). She was a wonderful momma. Puppies were born just in time for Valentines day - on 2/13/08.

When I went out early in the morning to check on her, this is what I found! 

   

    At 5 weeks, they were going on walks...in the snow, because it snowed every weekend in March that year! The faithful pyrenees loved to help, giving Moonbeam a nice break from the girls.

At 5wks, Athena, Atalanta and Aravis were rearing to go!

      

   At 2 months old we were still going on lots of free-runs, and they were growing into lovely dogs. They also began to outrun me...However, they were pretty good at coming when called and we tramped all over the mountainside - letting them experience steep slopes without a trail, snow, the creek and everything in-between.

Athena

       

Pyrenees are a great help...they would guide the puppies home while I came running along behind!

     Moonbeam was rather happy when they were weaned, since she got the opportunity to make new friends without the pesky pups!

 

     Then came the big day - the pups were big enough (at 4 months) and the weather was heating up. Time to get them harness-broken:

Anticipation - Athena wondering what we were going to do!

 

    

    And that's how the A litter became sled dogs!