These dogs LOVE pulling sleds. They bark and howl with as the equipment gets set up. One morning in winter I went to say goodbye to Party before she would leave for three weeks and she was so excited, she could barely contain herself at the sight of the sled being set up.
As Party and I got closer, friends suggested that I apply to adopt her. Anyone can apply to adopt one of the Denali sled dogs when they retire. Preference is given to people who have a relationship with the dog. Could I adopt her? Should I adopt her? When I took a job with the Forest Service that would move me back down to Minnesota, I was weepy in the kennel manager’s office.
“Sharon, Minnesota is a fine place for Party to retire to,” David Tomeo assured me.
“Yeah, but if it’s better that she join someone’s private sled dog team up here, I’ll understand,” I said.
“She will be nine years old, she won’t have the same energy, she’ll be ready to be a pet when she retires,” he assured me.
So I applied to adopt her and picked my Minnesota home based on its dog friendly building rules, private dog park, and ample trails for both bike riding and dog walking and hoped for the best. I settled into my new Forest Service job and life. Then changes in government happened and I learned that my job would be going away sometime in the future and I should figure out my exit strategy. The same day I learned this, I got a call from Tomeo at the kennels informing me that Party was retiring and I could take her.
I went through so many emotions not unlike Ron Burgundy in a phone booth.
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