After my three sons, my wife, and I closed our mushing business (carrying passengers in sleds with our dog teams), we kept two of our elder huskies, Denali and Knik. They lived out their lives with us at home, tolerating grandkids and grousing over bones. They were our wheel dogs for 10 years.

Final Trails

©By Richard Drebert

Two deaf dogs still wander

Snow paths hitched to sled,

Of olden times they ponder,

Harness, traps, and bed.

To make their points quite clear,

They lay on distant mounds,

Private memories dear,

Sleeping through all sounds.

They eat from separate bowls,

Growling o’er their mash,

Bones dropped into holes,

Forgetting every cache.

Dodging bikes and toys,

Guarding weary tails,

From musher’s girls, and boys,

The yard their final trails.