Icey’s Tribute

It is with deep sadness that Mark and I share the news of the passing of one of my Iditarod teammates, our dear friend, and loved family member, NorthWapiti's Meomar Iceman. Icey was a leader and commonly known as our team 'clown'. We spent last evening sharing stories of the various pranks that he has pulled on his teammates and us over the years. Everything from inflicting his unique grooming preferences on any dog in the kennel close enough to him, to stealing the food bowls from the swing dogs when our backs were turned, to his preference for sleeping on his back (Icey was the dog featured in the Anchorage Newspaper during Iditarod sleeping on his back in the McGrath checkpoint). He always made us laugh!

Icey ran in harness with the team on Saturday. On Monday morning he had a sore shoulder and didn't want to eat. On Tuesday morning, he was in the vet with a fever of 41 and a raging infection through his left shoulder muscle. On Wednesday morning he quietly died at home, with me sleeping 2" from his face with my arm around him.

The battery of tests that was being done on him as we fought for his survival and the battery of tests were done on his body provided us with only partial answers. He died from a bacterial infection of Klebsiella. The method that this bacterium used to get into his muscle tissue and the reasons his system could not fight it remain a mystery.  A small bright spot in all this is that this doesn’t appear to be something that will endanger the rest of the kennel and that they are all looking healthy and strong.

Our gratitude to Jackie and Chris Marshall of Meomar Kennels. When Icey was 6 months old, they decided he was too good a dog to live out his life in their aging dog population and INSISTED he come live and work with us. You were right guys - he was a great dog. Icey was a participant in the Beargrease, Gold Rush Trail 120, Race to the Sky, Knik 200, Klondike 300, Goose Bay 120, and the Iditarod.

It is never easy to lose a friend, but to lose a young dog (5 1/2 years), in peak physical condition, so quickly, has been particularly hard.

Karen