Siri
Information
As I'm sure is obvious to anyone who knows me or has heard me talk about Siri, she is quite simply the absolute love of my life. This little girl has given me SO much. She is a BIS (Best In Show) winner, my first and it was a owner/handled win! She was my main leader for 10 years and she has been a wonderful producer for me including a BIS winning son, Levi (my first breeder/owner BIS winner). However, it is not just what she has given me in the show ring or the whelping box, etc., but more importantly it has been her companionship that makes her so precious to me. Siri is my "Princess" and she is rarely far from my side. At night she either sleeps on my bed or on her comforter beside my bed. During the day she surveys her "kingdom", and her kingdom is what it is. If she wants something she makes sure you know it in no uncertain terms. In particular, she demands her belly rubs, as do many of her children and grand children - talk about genetics! Finally, Siri is one of those rare Siberians who is "safe" off-lead. Although I would never walk down a city street with any dog off-lead, both Siri and I absolutely love our off-lead walks together in the local park by the ocean. Now that she is older and no longer running on the sled team these walks in the park are definitely one of her favourite activities. The picture above was taken at this park. As I have said many times, "when you wish upon a star all your dreams come true". This has certainly been the case with Siri. She is truly my best friend.
On the Trail
Siri, LOVED to run in harness. For 10 years she was my main lead dog. In fact, lead was the only position she ever ran. Even at 10 1/2 years of age when we were doing runs towards the dogs' Working Dog titles, Siri ran lead. She wouldn't have it any other way. She was an extremely serious and focused dog who was all business when it came to working in harness. I always felt she gave me 100+% of what she was capable of giving me. She is retired now from running but she still comes out with us to supervise her son and grand children and I'm sure gives them words of advice after each run.
In the Show Ring
As mentioned above, Siri was my first BIS winner and it was an owner/handled win. This is a memory that I will never forget. Except for 1999 when she was shown approximately 25 times, Siri was only shown a few times each year. Despite this, she managed to accumulate an impressive show record and finished as the #6 ranked Siberian in Canada in 1999. She has now retired from the regular show ring, but will occasionally appear in the Veterans Class at Specialties. She did this in May of 2003 where at 10 years of age she received an AOM (Award Of Merit) win at the Yankee Siberian Husky Club Specialty in Wrentham, MA under judge Mr. T. J. Hartel. 128 dogs were entered in this Specialty. Siri was handled to this win by her friend John Macdonald who admitted that he had a hard time keeping up with this veteran girl as she flew around the outdoor ring. :-).
St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog
When Siri was younger she visited seniors at the veterans home. Then my obedience schedule interferred with those visitation and I had to give them up for a few years. However, in the summer of 2005 Siri passed her St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog tests and starting visiting a seniors home again. The seniors love this "senior" girl visiting them.They all say she has such a sweet face. :)
Other Activities
I have also participated in obedience, agility, freestyle dancing and pet therapy work with Siri. She was my obedience demo dog for my obedience classes for a number of years. Currently besides visiting the senior home as a therapy dog, Siri continues to occassionally come to my obediences classes as my demo dog. Siri particularly loves the first night of class where I show the students how to get their dogs associated to the clicker - click/treat, click/treat, click/treat... "Lets do some more mom", she says.
As I'm sure is obvious to anyone who knows me or has heard me talk about Siri, she is quite simply the absolute love of my life. This little girl has given me SO much. She is a BIS (Best In Show) winner, my first and it was a owner/handled win! She was my main leader for 10 years and she has been a wonderful producer for me including a BIS winning son, Levi (my first breeder/owner BIS winner). However, it is not just what she has given me in the show ring or the whelping box, etc., but more importantly it has been her companionship that makes her so precious to me. Siri is my "Princess" and she is rarely far from my side. At night she either sleeps on my bed or on her comforter beside my bed. During the day she surveys her "kingdom", and her kingdom is what it is. If she wants something she makes sure you know it in no uncertain terms. In particular, she demands her belly rubs, as do many of her children and grand children - talk about genetics! Finally, Siri is one of those rare Siberians who is "safe" off-lead. Although I would never walk down a city street with any dog off-lead, both Siri and I absolutely love our off-lead walks together in the local park by the ocean. Now that she is older and no longer running on the sled team these walks in the park are definitely one of her favourite activities. The picture above was taken at this park. As I have said many times, "when you wish upon a star all your dreams come true". This has certainly been the case with Siri. She is truly my best friend.
On the Trail
Siri, LOVED to run in harness. For 10 years she was my main lead dog. In fact, lead was the only position she ever ran. Even at 10 1/2 years of age when we were doing runs towards the dogs' Working Dog titles, Siri ran lead. She wouldn't have it any other way. She was an extremely serious and focused dog who was all business when it came to working in harness. I always felt she gave me 100+% of what she was capable of giving me. She is retired now from running but she still comes out with us to supervise her son and grand children and I'm sure gives them words of advice after each run.
In the Show Ring
As mentioned above, Siri was my first BIS winner and it was an owner/handled win. This is a memory that I will never forget. Except for 1999 when she was shown approximately 25 times, Siri was only shown a few times each year. Despite this, she managed to accumulate an impressive show record and finished as the #6 ranked Siberian in Canada in 1999. She has now retired from the regular show ring, but will occasionally appear in the Veterans Class at Specialties. She did this in May of 2003 where at 10 years of age she received an AOM (Award Of Merit) win at the Yankee Siberian Husky Club Specialty in Wrentham, MA under judge Mr. T. J. Hartel. 128 dogs were entered in this Specialty. Siri was handled to this win by her friend John Macdonald who admitted that he had a hard time keeping up with this veteran girl as she flew around the outdoor ring. :-).
St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog
When Siri was younger she visited seniors at the veterans home. Then my obedience schedule interferred with those visitation and I had to give them up for a few years. However, in the summer of 2005 Siri passed her St. John's Ambulance Therapy Dog tests and starting visiting a seniors home again. The seniors love this "senior" girl visiting them.They all say she has such a sweet face. :)
Other Activities
I have also participated in obedience, agility, freestyle dancing and pet therapy work with Siri. She was my obedience demo dog for my obedience classes for a number of years. Currently besides visiting the senior home as a therapy dog, Siri continues to occassionally come to my obediences classes as my demo dog. Siri particularly loves the first night of class where I show the students how to get their dogs associated to the clicker - click/treat, click/treat, click/treat... "Lets do some more mom", she says.
