Hailey is a pretty little girl that I bought from Bill Cotter when she was just turning 2 (she's now 4 years old, just starting her peak athletic years). She's small, between 40 and 45 pounds and can lead or be in the main team. She's one of those dogs who you 'never see.' In other words, she never has any issues, injuries, fights, bad days etc. She just goes and goes.Oh wait, I DO notice her when...... she shreds something! She has gone through many o' harnesses. And just TRY and put a coat on her when camping. Shredded. During the GinGin 200 (2008 race, a particularly bad weather race), I was giving them extra rest after running 100 miles in -55 degree conditions (yes, that is 55 degrees below 0 - cold cold). We had about 40 miles to go to the finish. I came out from the checkpoint cabin to pack up and leave, to find my two leaders laying down quietly, but not connected to the rest of the team. Someone had found them wandering around tied them to a wooden stick near the front of the team. Hailey had shredded the line between the main gang line and the 2 leaders. And what's funny, I don't think I've every, even once, actually seen her in action. She is a very secretive, stealth shredder.
In spite of her little destructive pattern though, she is a very solid dog and has a secure position on the A team. She always pulls and has finished every one of the 8 races that I've been in (totalling over 1800 miles), with a substantial contribution in lead position. She's never been injured and has always had a great attitude. She has also led the team through some tough conditions. Finally, she is really cute and all the dogs think so too.
I have a girl from Cotter lines and she looks just like Hailey. She, too, is a secretive shredder....not lines (thank goodness) but no household item is safe if you leave her out of the crate in the house alone. Including my computer mouse. Silly dogs. :)
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