When We Had Sled Dogs

This story takes readers on a journey into the past when dog teams were part of the traditional way of life in Northern Saskatchewan. It follows the seasonal cycle of trapline life.

MUSH! is tailored to sled doggers of all levels of interest and experience. The beginner will appreciate the clear cut instructions for assembling his own equipment. The "old pros" will find its encyclopedic format of great and lasting value.

When eleven-year-old Matt must set up a business to save his failing math grade, he overcomes his self-doubt and also gains two friends along the way.

"Jeremy lives in a small community where winters are long and stray dogs roam the streets. When peer pressure leads Jeremy into a bad prank, he is immediately struck with guilt - and that's when Jeremy's life changes forever. Trying to make amends Jeremy befriends Yellow Dog - and in the process meets a curious old man who introduces him to the adventures of dog sledding. Soon Jeremy is forming his own old-time dog team with Yellow Dog at lead - and in the process discovers more about himself - and the old man - than he ever thought possible."--Provided by publisher.

McKenna, fourteen, is losing her vision to Stargardt's disease, but that will not stop her from competing in a rigorous new sled dog race through the Canadian wilderness.

"Sled dogs must love to run. Sled dogs must be strong. Sled dogs must obey commands. Sled dogs must get along with teammates. Puppy Yukon is the only girl in her litter, and she's got high energy. Could she be a leader in the sled dog team? Trainer Roberta works with the puppies. Yukon is faster and smarter than her brothers. Roberta thinks Yukon can help lead the team! Yukon continues to train with her team for two long years. Is she finally ready to race?"--Provided by publisher.

After a fifteen-year career as a sled dog racer, musher Dave Olesen turned his focus away from competition and set out to fulfill a lifelong dream. Over the course of four successive winters he steered his dogs and sled on long trips away from his remote Northwest Territories homestead, setting out in turn to the four cardinal compass points—south, east, north, and west—and home again to Hoarfrost River. His narrative ranges from the personal and poignant musings of a dogsled driver to loftier planes of introspection and contemplation. Olesen describes his journeys day by day, but this book is not merely an account of his travels. Neither is it yet another offering in the genre of “wide-eyed southerner meets the Arctic,” because Olesen is a firmly rooted northerner, having lived and travelled in the boreal outback for over thirty years. Olesen’s life story colours his writing: educated immigrant, husband and father, professional dog musher, working bush pilot, and denizen of log cabins far off the grid. He and his dogs feel at home in country lying miles back of beyond. This book demolishes many of the clichés that imbue writings about bush life, the Far North, and dogsledding. It is a unique blend of armchair adventure, personal memoir, and thoughtful, down-to-earth reflection.

A moving historical tale and remarkable literary achievement, City Wolves is the story of Canada’s first woman veterinarian, Meg Wilkinson. Born in 1870 on a farm near Halifax, Meg’s childhood experience with wolves makes her determined to be a veterinarian. Supported by the seemingly eccentric Randolph Oliphant and inspired by the ancient Inuit who first turned wolves into sled dogs, Meg surpasses the horse doctors at vet college and becomes the notorious ’dog doctor of Halifax’ in the 1890s. After her unusual marriage ends abruptly in Boston, Meg travels to Vancouver and up to the Yukon, seeking the legendary sled dogs. Arriving at the beginning of the Klondike gold rush, she makes her way amidst Mounties, dance hall girls, Klondike Kings, mushers, priests and swindlers...all the mangy and magnificent people, dogs and spirits that populated raucous Dawson City. Observed through the restless spirit of Inuit Ike, this is lively, insightful, historical fiction, subtly revealing the wolf-like nature of humans and the human nature of wolves. Both earthy and reflective, City Wolves is an important story told with compassion, humour and unflinching realism. In this her fifth novel, Dorris Heffron has created a wide range of unforgettable characters and achieved a breadth of vision exploring the deep conflicts and interconnection of social beings in a way that is uniquely Canadian and profoundly universal.