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With winter fast approaching we started looking at getting him a jacket and boots. He took to his ëtartaní fleece jacket straight away and didnít even try to get it off. The boots were another matter!! Eventually, Glen came up with the brain wave of putting them on his back legs while he was eating. Success! Except he would try and keep one paw up in the air. Once outside he forgot he had them on and would happily run, jump and do all the other mad things that Wheatenís do. During the winter one of our favourite walks was around Alaskaland, which is a big tourist park during the summer, but is deserted in the winter ñ no one else is mad enough to walk their dogs in sub-zero temps. The walk-ways were ploughed of fresh snow and allowed us to get some decent walks in as we could let Brodie off the lead and he would tear about and run as fast as he could go. The one problem though was stopping! He would put the brakes on, but with nothing to get a grip on he would slide to a stop and on numerous occasions, slide head first into the bank of snow. Very funny to watch.
The winter of 2000/2001 was the second warmest since records began and we had only 2 days where temps got as low as minus 32F ñ when itís that cold you donít want to go for too long walks! It wasnít unusual for both Brodie and Glenís beards to be frozen and have icicles hanging off. Driving home on those days would end up being uncomfortable as Brodie would stick his head over the headrest and into your neck and the ice would start melting down your back.
When we lived in Scotland we had to contend with the daily delicacies Brodie would find on his walks. You know the kind ñ sheep, deer and fox pooh ñ and if he found a particularly good one he would end up rolling in it and would often go home as the first green wheaten!! To compensate for not having this to look forward to on his walks here he has discovered the delights of Öímoose nuggetsí! Moose are everywhere and even wander into the middle of town. Fortunately when we have been walking we have spotted them before Brodie and managed to get him back on the lead and make a very hasty (quiet) retreat!!! Bears are coming out of hibernation now and to be on the safe side when we go walking we take a ëbear bellí. This is a bell on the end of a piece of leather which you attach to your waistbands and then as you walk it makes a noise ñ which alerts the bears that you are there and ëhopefullyí they will run away!!
Nearly everyone in Fairbanks has at least one dog and they take them everywhere, even to work. So, everyday Brodie comes into the office and there he meets up with the other 3 dogs in the block ñ Marley the Wolfhound/Labrador cross, Chewy a true Alaskan hound (their version of Heinz 57), and the newest addition Kelsie a West Highland terrier. We do have to be careful with dog food ñ the other dogs have bowls of food left out all day for them and anyone who knows Brodie will know this is asking for trouble. One day he did his Houdini trick and got out of our office and finished off both Marley and Kelseyís food!!!Click back to main adventure page
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