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Love of Granite

I was a sleddog racer; I had a competitive team of racing Siberian Huskies, and the older and younger dogs not ready for or retired from my team were run by my foster children. They were beautiful dogs, from an old and rare racing bloodline I had worked most of my life to have and keep. I had a great team; my lead dog was a large powerful gray male with deep dark brown eyes named Granite. He was the fastest leader I had ever had, the smartest too, and I was gearing up for a great racing season on a snowy gray day in late November.

There was just enough snow for the sleds, and I had just returned from a short 20 mile training run. Jilly was 8 years old, a quiet girl who had just come to me that year, she was an abuse case, and had confidence problems. She adored the dogs, and loved racing, she had run her first race in a fun run warm up just the week before and was anxious for the real season to start. At her age she ran short 3 mile junior heats with a little 3 dog team. Seville, my retired 10 year old lead dog, Gunther and Whirly, both 7 year old males made up her team. Not blazing fast because Seville was slow, but steady and reliable. Jilly wanted to beat the junior champion from the year before, but Seville refused to run faster, and the fun run had produced a second place finish that had stirred shy quiet little Jilly into a vocal campaigner for a faster lead dog namely, Granite.

For every reason I came up with for why she couldn't run Granite, he was too strong, too fast, and too willful, Jilly had replies; she needed him strong, she wanted the speed, and she was willing to work every single day with him. I needed him though, for my team, so I had been standing firm. That day Jilly brought her sled out as I was unhooking my team, Gunther and Whirly in place she came and stood by Granite and looked at me. "Please?" she pleaded. Best Bambi eyes I had ever seen blinked at me. In the back of my mind I was thinking that the "edge" was run off of him and maybe. I looked at her again, Gunther and Whirly were slamming in their harness', screaming to run, and Granite was licking Jilly's face, she came out every morning before school and took treats to the dog, she thought I didn't know about that but I did. "Ok, 3 mile loop, nice and easy."

Moments later, after promises about taking it easy, Jilly exploded out of the kennel like a bullet, Granite faster than ever pulling a light sled and tiny musher, and me shaking my head thinking about Kamikaze

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