New Blog
10:11 AM Edit This 0 Comments »
Please go to my new blog for further updates.
www.SarahStokey.com
www.SarahStokey.com
10:06 PM Edit This 0 Comments »
please bear with me as I update / renovate my blog... I am trying to switch to a full website so that's why there has been a lack of posts... don't worry, I haven't forgotten about my blog, I'm simply trying to make it a little more professional!
What a Day!
10:15 PM Edit This 1 Comment »
As Seward likes to constantly prove when it rains, it pours. Yesterday was quite the day. I have to say I've never experienced anything quite like it and I don't think anyone else has either. What an interesting fiasco it was! Still, work was enjoyable.
Yesterday started off nice and easy. The weather was cooperating, my tourists were all really nice people (one even grew up in Cotuit), and the dogs were all in impecable moods. It seemed like nothing could go wrong. . . until it did. About half-way through the tour my brakes decided to lock up which resulted in us not being able to go anywhere. We were, quite literally, stuck in the mud. It turns out that the air had released from our air-hydrolic brakes and caused everything to jam. What that meant was no moving wheels. Now, the dogs are strong. They make pulling a 2,000 pound sled look like a piece of cake but there was no way they could budge that sled without the wheels turning. So I sat there talking to my guests while I calmly called Danny (my boss) to come help me out. Boy, was I glad I had my phone!
Fifteen minutes later, he and my friend Michael came out on the four-wheeler with a brand-new sled. We then had to transfer the entire dog team from one sled to the other via the four wheeler. Basically, we used the winch on the four wheeler as our anchor so the team couldn't go anywhere. After transferring the team to the new sled, we were then good to go.
Problem solved, right? Well we got back to the dog lot and all was well. The incident didn't even phase me. Stuff like that can happen and you just have to great it calmly and smile about it after. My guests thought it was very exciting.
After that, I was looking forward to a nice calm ride the next time I took my team out. Right? Wrong! Just before the half-way mark I said "Alright" to my team to get them going and off they went . . . without us! The way we had hooked the gangline back up to the sled had somehow come undone and poof! Like magic my team was gone in a whirlwind of tanglined lines and barking. I jumped off my sled, told my guests I would be right back, and then chased down my team, not once, but twice!
This was a little nerve racking but I didn't let it phase me. Rule number one: Don't panic! Panicking doesn't help solve a situation and, with tourists, it often freaks them out so you just have to remain calm and collected. The main worry here was the dogs -- when they get loose like that if they get tangled sometimes they will fight or they can choke or be dragged to death (Definitely B A D). Fortunately for me, everyone was ok.
Once again, I called Danny who rushed out on the ATV to help me. By the time he'd gotten out there, we'd tied off my team to another sled and were in the processes of untangling dogs. We hooked the dogs up to the ATV then drove them back to my sled, reattached them, and got underway.
Thankfully, my guests thought this entire episode was hilarious. "You should have seen your face!" One woman said. "They took off, we didn't, and your jaw just totally fell." "I don't think I've ever seen a person act so quickly and calmly," said another.
The rest of the tour was completed with all our dogs and with no problems! Yay!
Needless to say, by the time the end of the day rolled around I was grateful. I got home, cracked open a beer, snuggled up to the Chena-dog, and started reading. I'm pretty happy with how I handled the situations that arose and I'm definitely learning a lot about crowd control / solving dog problems. My boss was also happy with the way I handled things which is always a good thing too.
If anyone is looking for good books to read I just read "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr and found it really fascinating. It's about the brain and how our technology shapes it. I also recently started "Born to Run" and cannot seem to put it down. It's about the Tarahumara Indians who are a tribe of insane runners who live in the Mexican Copper Canyons. Check it out for sure.
TTFN. Ta Ta for Now!
Yesterday started off nice and easy. The weather was cooperating, my tourists were all really nice people (one even grew up in Cotuit), and the dogs were all in impecable moods. It seemed like nothing could go wrong. . . until it did. About half-way through the tour my brakes decided to lock up which resulted in us not being able to go anywhere. We were, quite literally, stuck in the mud. It turns out that the air had released from our air-hydrolic brakes and caused everything to jam. What that meant was no moving wheels. Now, the dogs are strong. They make pulling a 2,000 pound sled look like a piece of cake but there was no way they could budge that sled without the wheels turning. So I sat there talking to my guests while I calmly called Danny (my boss) to come help me out. Boy, was I glad I had my phone!
Fifteen minutes later, he and my friend Michael came out on the four-wheeler with a brand-new sled. We then had to transfer the entire dog team from one sled to the other via the four wheeler. Basically, we used the winch on the four wheeler as our anchor so the team couldn't go anywhere. After transferring the team to the new sled, we were then good to go.
Problem solved, right? Well we got back to the dog lot and all was well. The incident didn't even phase me. Stuff like that can happen and you just have to great it calmly and smile about it after. My guests thought it was very exciting.
After that, I was looking forward to a nice calm ride the next time I took my team out. Right? Wrong! Just before the half-way mark I said "Alright" to my team to get them going and off they went . . . without us! The way we had hooked the gangline back up to the sled had somehow come undone and poof! Like magic my team was gone in a whirlwind of tanglined lines and barking. I jumped off my sled, told my guests I would be right back, and then chased down my team, not once, but twice!
This was a little nerve racking but I didn't let it phase me. Rule number one: Don't panic! Panicking doesn't help solve a situation and, with tourists, it often freaks them out so you just have to remain calm and collected. The main worry here was the dogs -- when they get loose like that if they get tangled sometimes they will fight or they can choke or be dragged to death (Definitely B A D). Fortunately for me, everyone was ok.
Once again, I called Danny who rushed out on the ATV to help me. By the time he'd gotten out there, we'd tied off my team to another sled and were in the processes of untangling dogs. We hooked the dogs up to the ATV then drove them back to my sled, reattached them, and got underway.
Thankfully, my guests thought this entire episode was hilarious. "You should have seen your face!" One woman said. "They took off, we didn't, and your jaw just totally fell." "I don't think I've ever seen a person act so quickly and calmly," said another.
The rest of the tour was completed with all our dogs and with no problems! Yay!
Needless to say, by the time the end of the day rolled around I was grateful. I got home, cracked open a beer, snuggled up to the Chena-dog, and started reading. I'm pretty happy with how I handled the situations that arose and I'm definitely learning a lot about crowd control / solving dog problems. My boss was also happy with the way I handled things which is always a good thing too.
If anyone is looking for good books to read I just read "The Shallows" by Nicholas Carr and found it really fascinating. It's about the brain and how our technology shapes it. I also recently started "Born to Run" and cannot seem to put it down. It's about the Tarahumara Indians who are a tribe of insane runners who live in the Mexican Copper Canyons. Check it out for sure.
TTFN. Ta Ta for Now!
