After the race, trophies were passed out, and congratulations. It was heartwarming the concern for me even though I was probably more embarassed than anything else.
The snow kept falling, and though we wanted to stay longer, I knew it was going to be a long journey home. We started out on the highway around noon local time, for the five hour drive. The highways were a mix of slush, salt and water, but fortunately not slippery so we made pretty decent time.
We stopped for lunch and a potty break for the dogs in Central City, then continued on. The storm kept pace with us the entire journey and it was still snowing beautifully when we arrived home. Although the roads around our place had not been plowed yet, we managed to manuver the trailer into the driveway after a bit of a struggle with traction, and unpack the essentials. The rest of the dogs were ecstatic to have 'mom' home!
I love the homecoming greetings of my huskies. Each of them says hello in their own little way. Moony with her circular winding tail and woo-wooing, Yukon with his cute little "Oh! Row row!", Demon with his "I ruv roo mom", Ace with her insistent jumping and trying to lick my face. Buck with his pushing everyone out of the way to nibble on my nose. G'kar with his "Rah, roo roo, bark, bark, bark" and Samantha with her "Bahroorah"(which means, 'glad you're back, now give me a bone'). Zena simply waits for them all to get out of the way before she pushes her way towards me and curls up next to me with a sad stare and a wiggly tail.
Bandit though, took exception to the other dogs coming to me, and started growling at them. With a sigh, I had to reprimand him only to receive a hurt look. It was surprising to see, but I knew he had to know that any show of aggression is not tolerated, though I was touched that he felt so possessive of me. He's a wonderful boy, but too big to begin to think he's alpha and needs to protect me. After the reprimand, he did not growl again, and after a few minutes of being passive towards all the other dogs, I praised him. Guess he is starting to feel his oats, so we are going to have to keep a close eye on him during the next heat to be sure he and Yukon do not get in to it over the girls. Next heat should probably be a bit easier as Yukon has taken to sleeping in the dog cave, and it will probably be pretty easy to separate him and Bandit from the girls and each other if he's in the crate and Bandit in my room.
Next month is the Blue Ridge Dryland Challenge. I'm looking forward to it!
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