Musher group works to save sled dogs from shelter

From the Fairbanks Daily Newsminer 01/07/04
By AMANDA BOHMAN, Staff Writer

A group of dog mushers and a few other pet lovers have formed an animal rescue organization geared toward helping sled dogs. Informal efforts to save sled dogs have been ongoing in the community, but this is the first official sled dog rescue organization formed in the area, where running dogs is not just a hobby for many residents but a way of life.

The group, named the Second Chance League, involves two-time Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race champion John Schandelmeier of Paxson. It wants to encourage adoption of sled dogs from the Fairbanks North Star Borough animal shelter, but its efforts won't stop there. The league is developing a three-pronged program in its effort to assure placements succeed. First, members will scout the shelter and find dogs with specific characteristics desired by prospective owners, said league president Lynn Orbison. Second, the organization will train dogs and coach would-be mushers to train dogs.
Finally, the league, which has a contract with the shelter, will provide foster homes for promising sled dogs abandoned at the shelter until a permanent home can be found. Ten dogs currently are in the league's foster-care program.

"Our mission is to help sled dogs be successful," Orbison said. "I think there are a lot of people who don't want to go to the shelter, but they'll take a dog from somebody else." The fee to adopt a Second Chance League dog is equal to the shelter's $100 adoption rate. The group's organization was spurred by increased concern over the number of sled dogs abandoned at the shelter, Orbison said. The organization became official last month. "We are a brand-new 501(c)(3) tax-exempt Alaska corporation," Orbison said. Other league members are Cathy Dimon, Sherri Stephens, Carol Kleckner, Ronnie Rosenberg, Mara Bacsujlaky and Jeanne Olson, who is the manager/veterinarian at the borough animal shelter. Olson said the shelter receives about five sled dogs a week, either as strays or because their owners no longer want them. At least half are euthanized.

The Second Chance League is a welcome addition to animal rescue groups already established in the area, such as the group Golden Retriever Rescue of Fairbanks, Olson said. Huskies at the shelter have drawn the attention of individual mushers in the past. Kleckner, a musher and skijorer, has been informally evaluating abandoned sled dogs and helping find placements since last winter. She has placed at least 25 dogs, she said, including a 75-pound blue-eyed husky mix that became a star in the junior sprint-mushing race circuit last February. "I go to the shelter six days a week," Kleckner said. Schandelmeier also has been evaluating and training "strays and giveaways" for years, he said. Half of the musher's 10-dog team that will compete in the Copper Basin 300 Sled Dog Race this weekend are shelter dogs and strays, said Schandelmeier, whose kennel is based in Paxson.

Orbison said the league is developing a Web site and official contact number. For now, more information can be obtained from Orbison at 488-9685 or lorbison@ptialaska.net . Second Chance League dogs are also being featured on the Web site petfinders.org.