Ariane and Richard's Story
Kira
It all started with a childhood dream. To have a dog. Every birthdays, and every other occasions were good to ask for a dog. But it was all in vain….So, I used to walk the next door neighbour cocker, the little « Sinus ». I would imagine this dog being mine. One day I learned that the neighbour and owner of Sinus was moving out of town and I thought that I would never see Sinus again. There was a « Dog for Sale » sign posted in front of the house and I knew that my parents did not want to have a dog. BUT…..I had a plan. I used to do a lot of classical piano contests in those days. It was the finals, and my parents had the habit of rewarding me with a small present when I won. This time, when they asked me what I wanted for the reward, I answered ‘’Sinus. I want Sinus.’’ To make a long story short, one day when I was coming back from school after winning these finals, Sinus was waiting in the house. The joy and happiness I had having Sinus close to me and walking with her everyday. Sinus made herself a place quickly in our family and was part of our daily lives. She left us at the age of 13 years old, a cancer took her. And for these years we remember her for all the special stuff she did. She would sing on demand (especially when we had popcorn), she would drink directly from the bath tap, she would dance on her back paws, crawl, roll and many more. She loved us very much and so did we. 
Flash
Sinus left us when I was already gone to college and was coming back home only on week-ends. I lived in an apartment and was not home very often. I knew that this was not a good situation for a dog. During these years, I started to educate myself on all the different dog breeds. Since I love them all, I had to select one of the breeds. After a lot of pros and cons, my interest always came back to the nordic breeds, especially the Alaskan Malamutes. In 1998, I started to contact some malamute breeders in North America, Australia and Europe, to educate myself on the particularity of the breed. In 2003, I obtain my first stable job and my first house. I still did not have the financial means nor the time to give to a dog that had a high energy level like the malamute. I opted for a male Saint-Bernard that was only $200 from a local breeder. What a tragedy! Avalanche ( Avy), my dear companion, was not the product of conscientious breeder. At 9 months, he started to limp. I got x-rays done on his hips and elbows, and found out that he had severe hip dysplaysia and a growth decease at the elbows. His hips could have dislocated at any time, so severe was the problem…and he had to be put on strong pain killers every day. It was not easy for him, being a puppy wanting to play, and hardly being able to move. It was very hard for me to see him suffer. So I made a decision, a tough one, and I said farewell. With all of this, my dream to have an Alaskan Malamute was still in my heart. So in 2005, I ended up at the Bathurst airport, to welcome Yukonjak’s Kira, my first female malamute, thanks to Tammy Herger of the Yukonjak Kennel. Stubborn, tenacious, affectionate, hard working, intelligent, Kira has all these qualities (and flaws at times!!!) that I was looking for. She is simply adorable! One year later, I met a man for who big dogs were really nice, but from far… and preferably from the other side of the fence. Richard always wanted a dog, but his lack of knowledge in the canine world made him a bit worried. He will always remember the day that I was stuck at work and asked him to go feed my two big beasts. There he was with a stubborn mal that did not want to go in her kennel, she instead wanted to play. So she started talking in wooo-wooo sounds. Rich not having the knowledge on Mals thought that she was unhappy with him and would be her desert. So Rich started gently pushing Kira on her rear end to get her back in her kennel, saying « good doggy, good doggy » He now knows that Kira is very much of a talker and is a very gentle teddy bear. We can say that Rich learned in the fast mode. First because I got pregnant and very sick, so incapable of doing lot of things, and very often he was alone with the dogs. He developed a strong passion for the malamute, and started educating himself about them. Since then, we welcomed another female malamute, Nordiclight’s In a Flash, aka « Flash », in September 2006. Thanks to Nathalie Roy and Pierre Thibeault from Nordiclight Kennel. In March 2007, we started sledding on short distances. We quickly realized that a dog with experience in sledding was going to be a plus on our team. Rich then decided to get Sky from a musher. Sky, our Alaskan husky, is a hard runner that never seems to get tired, but by far our biggest trouble maker!!! Finally, in August 2007, Lady Chinook d’Aikirocka, thanks to Ghislaine Laferrière, was the latest addition to our family. And now the story begins…. Ariane Forget and Richard Bergeron |
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