Beano

October 15, 1993 - August 8, 2006

...his passing still left a hole in the kennel that no one has been able to fill.

Beano was always his own dog. Whether through his own personality or life experience Beano never wished to connect with anyone. He was always content to be alone and watchful. It took us quite a bit of time but through the years we were able to finally get through to this old guy and prove to him that we were his friend.

On the trail he challenged us in so many ways. Beano was not a 'turn key' sled dog, he had to respect you before he would follow commands, which may have been the reason why he would never stay in one kennel for too long. We were told that when he disobeyed in his previous homes the musher would bite his ear and demand his respect. Because of this Beano was very head shy and may have been one of the reasons why it took us so long to earn his trust.

Through many miles on the trail we gained a mutual respect and from that moment on Beano would lead the team anywhere. He would work with the shy ones, those who needed to build confidence as well as the ones who just needed a bit of extra training to perfect their commands.

As he grew older his pace slowed and we had no choice but to retire him. We tried to take him out as much as we could on our slower shorter runs but after a certain number of miles his body just couldn't hold the pace comfortably. On the days he had to be left behind he would throw an absolute fit, turn his house over, bark and howl for hours on end. This boy LIVED for the trail.

At thirteen years of age we expected his passing would come but on the day of his death the loss still came as a shock. No matter how much this little sled dog challenged us over the years his passing still left a hole in the kennel that no one has been able to fill.

Beano was unique, one of a kind, and while he would have been a challenge for most owners we wouldn't have changed a thing. Beano led us down many trails, through many challenges and over countless miles. He holds many of our fondest trail memories.