Polar past away yesterday, quietly moving on in his sleep just before dinner time. I have had many, many adventures with him, and many fond memories.
We first got Polar when he was 4 years old, having failed out of a sprint musher and a long distance musher’s dog yards. He just didn’t have the drive to be a competitive sled dog, but was happy to be a pet, sleeping inside, and playing fetch with tennis balls. He was, as far as we can figure, turned 16 this spring, which is ripe old age for a sled dog.
For the last 12 years or so he has been a constant companion, joining me for winter and summer wanderings of all sorts.
For the last year or so he has been progressively slowing down, with his idea of an adventure had been a leisurely walk down to a near by lake, and napping in the sun.
We are going to miss him, he was a wonderful friend. I hope he is playing fetch somewhere in dog heaven.
Sorry to hear about your friend. Looks like he had a pretty fabulous life with you.
Thanks.
I used your blog to help me research my own Tolovana Hotsprings trip and really enjoyed all your pictures/info. I just wanted to say how great it was to see your memorial to your dog’s happy life in photos, all dogs should be so lucky to have a loving family and go on so many adventures.
Thanks for the kind words.