Dream a Dream Hall of Fame
Some sled dogs just stand out and are the best of the best. They simply perform at the highest level. Our inductees into the Dream a Dream Hall of Fame are our best. They contributed to great races and they comprise the sound bloodline essential to the foundation of a good kennel. Several dogs are so special they will be mentioned more than once in different sections.
Sadie and Joe Dog
These two dogs were my first two leaders and they taught me my trade. They took me to Nome on the southern route of the Iditarod when I was a rookie. Sadie came from Susan Butcher and was “ Granite’s” sister. She looked delicate and was a shy quiet one, yet she was amazingly tough. There was no quit in her. She was loyal and loved our place. She led and finished numerous Iditarod and Quest races.
Joe Dog came from Larry Johnson in Trapper Creek but raced in the Iditarod when he was a two year old with the 1980 Iditarod champ Joe May. Joe Dog and I were buddies and partners. He was my first great leader and to this day the best storm leader I have ever driven. Joe Dog instinctively knew where he was on the coast and in wind storms and blowing snow he was sensational. He had a beautiful brown coat, a twinkle in his eye and he loved running on the Iditarod Trail.
Bob Dylan, Kroto, Kashega and Trouble
These dogs weren’t leaders but as team dogs they were all five and six time Yukon Quest and Iditarod finishers. They were beautiful to watch and produced results on the races. Their seemingly effortless gaits and stamina made these four dogs our favorite team dogs. They stood out above the other good team dogs. They were finishers no matter how tough it was.
Bob Dylan was my first great team dog. Tall dark and handsome and he loved to race. The Iditarod did not faze him. He thought the food was better on the race and loved being put next to a cute girl dog. He was a good partner to his older teammates but he had little patience for the younger team dogs, especially the males who could not keep up with him.
Kashega, Trouble and Kroto followed in Dylan’s footsteps as strong dogs that loved what they were doing. For them racing the Iditarod seemed effortless. Kashega finished three Yukon Quests and three Iditarods. Kashega was also a solid leader so his contribution to our kennel was substantial. Trouble, whose original name was Sapporo, was renamed for obvious reasons, she was so prone to trouble making. But in spite of her challenges she finished six Iditarods. Kroto finished every race he started and would play at the finish line like a puppy at the end of an Iditarod.
Molly, Scar and Nellie
These three leaders led us to the 1989 second place Yukon Quest finish and 1990 Yukon Quest championship. Molly was our “Golden Harness” winner as a leader in 1990, but Scar was her equal. Molly had that beautiful outgoing disposition that the race judges, veterinarians, volunteers and fans noticed. Molly was a lover and wanted to sit in your lap. Scar, whose real name was Captain, was laid back and withdrawn during the race and at the checkpoints but he was something in lead. He looked a lot like his uncle, Granite. His nickname Scar came to be when he was a small puppy. He came down with a bad rash and had scabs all over so we took to calling him Scar.
Nellie did the damage to Jeff King on our final push from Carmacks to Whitehorse. She was relentless in her determination and speed. Nellie was one of a kind and truly our best ever. She could not stand to be behind another team. She did not want to be touched yet she loved and wanted to be with you! She was independent from the moment she opened her eyes and she squirmed like a baby pig to make you let go of her. She loved to run and every other pup tried to catch her but to no avail. She was not only faster but she could turn on a dime. She had that winning spirit something you can’t train into a great dog.
Drover, Willie Nelson, Ruger and Fiddle
 These four male leaders were all alike. They were not the fastest dogs but they were always honest and always gave you a top performance. They left checkpoints easily and happily when it was late in the race and leaving the straw beds could be tough to do. All four were excellent command leaders which made the difficult trails easy. Their reliability was their stand out trait and they were all five, six or seven time Iditarod finishers. Drover was Bob Dylan’s brother and was also tall dark and handsome. Drover lived the longest of our retired dogs. He was 18 when he finally succumbed to old age. True to his lineage as a racing sled dog he was trying to eat right up to the moment of his death. He had spent eight years unencumbered in his retirement. Every morning he came into our cabin to see us but he didn’t want to stay long and back outside he would go. I think he longed for the good old days with his buddies out on the trail.
 Willie Nelson was Drover’s son and a litter mate to Waylon Jennings, Reba McIntyre and Dolly Parton. Ruger was Molly and Scar’s son and like Molly , he is a lover. He is a one of a kind. He has visited several hundred thousand students in the Dakotas and he loved every moment of it. His litter mates were Colt, Remington, and Uzi.
Fiddle was the shy one and his litter mates were Celle, Banjo, Harp and Trumpet. Fiddle’s father Sluggo , from Susan Butcher and David Monson, was a great Iditarod leader, a trait he passed on to his son Fiddle. There will be more on Fiddle in the bloodline section.
Taz, Vinnie and Cooter
 These three were exceptional race leaders. Taz might have been my next best after Nellie, for the ability to run against the best teams in the world. Art Church Jr., my neighbor and a good dog man, raised and trained Taz along with her brother Vinnie, the Italian Stallion. They were thin coated but loved to eat and held up well in a long distance race. Taz is jealous of other females and wanted my full attention. Vinnie led one run in the Iditarod I will never forget: single lead, Shaktoolik to Elim via Koyuk with no rest to catch Rick Swenson in the 1999 Iditarod. He was moving fast and strong the whole way.
Cooter was like Taz; slight of build, ate everything and was tireless. Getting Cooter and Taz to settle down at a checkpoint was not easy. They were never tired and they always wanted to eat, other teams food if reachable. They always made me feel good at checkpoints to watch them having so much fun. You knew you were leaving the checkpoint strong with these two in lead.
Sioux and Mt. Dew
Sioux and his son Mt. Dew were top leaders and could have led to Iditarod wins, Sioux in 1999 when we were third and Mt. Dew in 2002 when we were fifth. They were difficult dogs to work with and train. They didn’t think much of a daily training regimen and I very seldom if ever led them in training yet they raced like champions and were perfect command leaders especially on the coast when trails blew in or were hard to distinguish. When they led latter in a race the speed of the team increased noticeably and they had power at lead. Sioux’s litter mates were Cheyenne, Arapaho, Apache, Blackfoot, And Ojibway. Mt. Dew, who students loved-he was so handsome, was in the soda pop litter with Pepsi, Coke, Seven-up and Root-beer.
DOC
Doc came to us when he was young, 14 or 15 months old. I bought him from Terry Streeper. He led in his first Iditarod as a two year old. He was deaf-totally deaf. He loved it along side Willie Nelson and Reba McIntyre up in lead. He set a heck of a pace and just seemed to turn and do whatever the other leader did without fault. He was fun to lead because it seemed like it was his destiny. Susan would race him in lead in Wyoming at the Stage Stop and then he would come back to Alaska and go wire to wire on the Iditarod. He couldn’t hear himself and he was constantly barking especially to go. He didn’t like to stop. His disability never got in his way and I doubt he ever knew he had one. He had confidence. Doc was out of George Attla’s Lingo line and Horse was the father and Dela the mother.
Dream a Dream Hall of Fame Bloodlines
Star Line
I luckily purchased Star from Patty Friend who had bred her in collaboration with Jim Welch. Jim Welch was a top sprint racer, breeder and the author of the best mushing manual ever written, “The Speed Mushing Manual”. Star’s father was Welch’s Quick and Quick was from George Attla’s best breeding female at that time, Chris. Chris was out of Rex and Lonely. Star produced Nellie for me along with Willie Nelson and Reba. Their father was Drover. Drover was out of Butcher’s Ivak and Footsie. Footsie was from Joe Redington’s Feets and Dandy. Star’s stamina was equaled by her speed form the Attla sprint lines. She proved her worth to me on the Quest and Iditarod and her offspring were winners.
Sadie Line
 Sadie and her more famous brother, Granite were from a sensational litter, a breeding of Joe Redington’s dogs Betty and Pilot. Betty was out of Tennessee and Sitka. Pilot and littermates Co-Pilot and Shank, were out of Shinto and Bonnie. Granite won four Iditarods with Susan Butcher and I ran Sadie my rookie year on the Iditarod when she was a two year old. Sadie produced a phenomneal litter of pups for us; Scar, Kashega, Nateekin, Makushin, Rhubarb, Grace and Michael Francis. This litter propelled my wife Susan in her first Yukon Quest when she was awarded the “Challenge of the North” award. The award given to the musher who best exemplifies the race with skill and dog care. This litter was the backbone of my 1989 second place team and 1990 winning Yukon Quest team. Every one of them was good.
Ruff Line
Ruff ,the father of this great litter. was also from Susan Butcher. He was out of Toby and Black. The ‘Ruff’ side of this breeding complemented Sadie’s traits for beautiful tall slender leaders with gorgeous coats who could trot fast with stamina. Ruff was a perfect command leader and I believe Susan Butcher sold him to me early in my career so I would know what a good command leader should do. He turned every time when the musher gave the command whether there was a trail or not.
Fiddle Line
His mother was Gemini who came from Roxy Wright, a world championship sprint musher. Gemini finished every heat in many Fur Rendevous and North American Championship races. Gemini was out of Roxy’s Bruce and Fever. Fever came from Rick Swenson’s “Archy” who was out Rick’s famous Iditarod leader “Andy”. When you think of the best Iditarod leaders ever Andy and Granite are at the top of the list. You can go see Andy at Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla. I bred Gemini to “Sluggo” who anchored and led some of Susan Butcher’s great teams. Initially when Sluggo was a pup he was near the slowest of all their pups but with patience he was given a chance and proved his worth many times over. Sluggo was always in the shadow of Granite but his bloodline is truly a top distance line. They are tall and slender, fast and tireless. They have great feet. Fiddle is a beautiful fox red dog like Sluggo and he has finished every race he has ever been in. Fiddle gave you power at lead along with pace.
Mt. Dew
His father was Reudi from Mike Madden and Eric Beutow. Ruedi was from a dog named Gretzky. Mike once told me Ruedi can “motor” up on the coast and motor he could-he was as smooth as silk. The mother is Cooter and her lineage is historic. Cooter was the daughter of Joe Runyan’s famous leader “Firlin” and she was a granddaughter of Bill Cotter’s winning leader “Pele”. Mt. Dew and this bloodline still looks strongly pure Siberian. This must come from the Ruedi side as this was his look too. They are excellent racers but don’t like training. They tend to be zealous and fearful of new things and different people. This may explain why they were so good out on a race in the wilderness with less things to worry about.
Taz, Vinnie, Vinnette and Turbo Line
 My neighbor, Art Church Jr. bought a dog named “Bentley” from Dee Dee Jonrowe who had purchased this same dog from Roxy Wright. This was Roxy’s car litter. Art bred Bentley to Martin Buser’s famous “Dagger” producing Taz and Vinnie. Art then bred Vinnie to a dog named Skittles and whelped a fantastic litter: Vinnette, Turbo, Jet, Sky and Kooter. Three of these Vinnette, Turbo and Jet are the ultimate Iditarod dog: fast trotters who can easily lope, great feet and the love of their life is eating: ravenous noisy eating at all times. Dagger is out of Nerds and Bessie and Bessie is out of Welch’s Quick. Bentley was out of Pluto and Ruby.
Skittles or the mother’s side is significant in that she was also out of Bentley and a very good dog named Champ owned by Mellen Shea. Other Vinnie offspring from different females were not quite as good as the Skittles pups in my mind.
JOE DOG and MOLLY Lines
Joe Dog’s father was from Joe May’s famous leader “Wilbur” who was a littermate to Cora Grey, Opal and Henry. These dogs won every race they entered including the Iditarod during the 1979/1980 racing season. His mother was Mugabee from Charlie Fitka and provides us with a great story. Joe May once wrote me that Mugabee got loose during the 1978 Iditarod from Charlie’s team. Charlie not wanting to be disqualified since he could not catch Mugabee gave her to Mike Gavin, the race marshal. Mike traded Mugabee to Jim Kershner, Joe’s friend and neighbor, for a running hound. Joe got Mugabee when Jim decided to get out of dogs, but Joe wrote he doubted Mugabee’s speed so Larry Johnson, another neighbor, ended up with her in a traveling team. Larry bred her to Wilbur and Joe Dog came to be. I traded my only pickup and Honda ATV to get JoeDog after he led me to Nome my rookie year. That is how much I thought of him. I spent most of that summer walking and hitch-hiking.
Molly was a Mel and Steve Adkin’s breeding. They were good breeders and good mushers. They used Joe May’s “Jack” as a stud. He descended from Joe Redington’s “Tennessee” on both sides. The mother was Mossy and she was also a Joe May/Adkins female. The Adkins had an eye for good dogs and Molly was exceptional. She had a perfect trot, a beautiful coat and fantastic metabolism. Her disposition was sweet and she passed this trait on to her offspring. Molly had a huge impact on our kennel. She was our “Golden Harness” leader many times over and she would lead wire to wire on a race. She could set a race up so Nellie could take over. Her son Ruger is just like her and rides around in the pickup with me: intently enjoying himself satisfied just to be with me.
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