01/02/2020
They said he would never run again. I remember the way my stomach felt as I sat, waiting at the vet’s office. I was in a room with Koivu, my 10-year old husky, and Lucca, my 1-year old son.
We were there for x-rays because Koivu was limping. At his age I knew it was unlikely we would receive good news. I just prayed he could still run, even if it wasn’t as part of the team.
The limping was part of an ongoing issue that I have been hesitant to talk about on social media.
In November of 2017, Leah and I were over at my parents house. Koivu was there with us and we were all in the basement. When Koivu walked through a doorway, he let out a yipe and briefly held up his back right paw.
Leah missed the entire thing but I saw it all. The doorway it happened in had destroyed carpet (thanks to one of Koivu’s destructive moments), and there were a few exposed parts of sharp metal. I thought he had stepped on one. So I laid him down and searched for a puncture on his paw. But we couldn’t find anything. So I assumed that it poked him but didn’t break the skin.
About a week later, he was walking at our house and yiped and held up the same paw. There was nothing on our floor and this time I was certain the yipe was caused by something else. I searched his paws for swelling or a small tumor but could find nothing. The next day I brought him into the vet for x-rays. I thought maybe he had a sprained or sore toe.
What I was not ready to hear was that his back was developing arthritis. And that it was so bad that his spine was fusing together.
Koivu was only 8 years old. He had never had a single health issue in his entire life. We called him the ironman. Hearing that his spine was in such bad condition was devastating news. He was my first puppy. He was the husky that had convinced me to start a sled dog team. He was the dog that loved running more than ANYTHING in the world.
Our vet told us that he would need some time off. We needed to reduce the inflammation and that would take time. But she felt optimistic that Koivu would be able to run with some rest.
The next five weeks were awful. The first time I left Koivu behind he was screaming to come with. He stared at me with pleading eyes. Why? He begged. Why are you not taking me running anymore?
I tried to explain things to him but my words meant nothing. When I ran the team without him it wasn’t the same. The remaining dogs could feel my negative energy and it affected our runs. I didn’t want to run dogs without Koivu.
I was angry because I felt Koivu would run for his entire life. Now, Koivu’s time with the team suddenly felt limited. The arthritis would never go away. All we could do was manage it by slowing down the speed at which his arthritis worsened.
I no longer knew how much time I had left with Koivu as a sled dog. That was our identity together. And it was all crumbling down around us. We were both depressed. I stopped running the dogs for the last two weeks because it pained me to leave Koivu behind.
We did every treatment possible with Koivu. Laser therapy, light therapy, massage therapy, hydro therapy and chiropractic. He took all kinds of supplements to reduce inflammation. He took more to prevent it from getting worse.
When I was finally given the green light to run Koivu again, I was terrified. What if it hurt him and he injured himself worse?
I took him out with our slower team and eased him back into running. He was thrilled and within 2 months everything fell back into place. Koivu returned to our fast team and dominated in Apostle Islands race, a 66-mile, hilly marathon. It was our longest finish as a team.
Two weeks later we entered the Midnight Run. This was the race that has plagued our team for years. A 90-mile race that we had been gearing up to complete for the past few seasons. It was the first race we ever entered as a team - back when none of us had any idea what we were doing.
But now we were back, and the stars had aligned for us to complete the race. I had a feeling that this would most likely be the last time Koivu would ever attempt the Midnight Run. It would be a fitting finish for us.
Leah and I were now married (we were dating the first time we attempted the race), our 1-year old son was here to watch for the first time and even my parents had made the trip up North. It was all perfect.
Koivu wasn’t my leader anymore but I considered letting him start the race. But Kaiya and Juneau had run so strong in the Apostle Islands I didn’t want to risk losing the team chemistry.
Thousands of people were in attendance that night as our team waited beneath the starting chute. Kaiya and Juneau stared down Main Street at the massive crowd surrounding the trail. Everyone chanted the countdown. 3...2...1... GO!
And our team took off. Immediately I knew something was wrong, Kaiya and Juneau were jogging, their heads swiveled as they stared wide-eyed into the crowd. They were spooked. And I knew then that I should have started Koivu in lead.
Once we made it through the crowd I switched Koivu into lead and dropped Kaiya back. Koivu was thrilled and immediately put the entire team on his back and went to work. It was like he knew that this was his last chance at finishing this race.
But even with his confidence, the damage was done. Kaiya, Juneau and Bure never recovered from the crowd. And around 30 miles into the race I decided to scratch. Koivu had given me everything he had. I could tell he was sore and for the first time ever, I needed to pick him up and carry him into the truck.
Over the next few weeks Koivu gradually returned to his normal self. The season was over and even though I normally did fun and short runs from the house, I stopped running everyone. Koivu needed to rest and so I ended everyone’s season early.
But as time passed, Koivu never really seemed to recover 100% from the race. He had good days and a few great days, but there were also days where he couldn’t sit up without any help. I was wracked with guilt. Did I do this to him? I asked myself that question thousands of times.
When I finally took him into the vet, I knew I wasn’t going to receive good news. Leah wanted to be there but she was working.
When our vet came in she explained that not only was Koivu’s back worse, he also had a torn ACL. She was amazed that he could walk as well as he did. She told me that his days as a sled dog were over. She didn’t even want him running on a leash. We were allowed short, calm walks only.
For the entire winter season of 2018-2019, Koivu sat out. He cried every time I left with the team. Every. Single. Time. It was gut wrenching. And it was a long season that lacked the happiness I usually took from the training runs. Of course I enjoyed running our dogs, but it was glaringly different with that one missing spot in the gangline.
Then, during the summer of 2019, I began jogging Koivu on a daily basis. I didn’t put a leash on him, I just let him free run. He was always about 20 feet in front of me - which is about the same distance our leaders are on a sled dog team.
We live on a steep hill and every morning the two of us would wake up early and jog the hill when it was still cool. About halfway through summer something amazing happened. Koivu became less stiff, and grew to be more agile. He hardly ever seemed sore. He started running off further and once disappeared into a neighbors yard where I found him happily circling a coop of terrified chickens. When I tried to drag him away from the coop he nearly pulled me down in the grass while still attempting to get at the fowl.
His strength was back. His attitude was back. And now that he was running away again, the leash was also back. For the rest of summer he pulled me down and up that damn hill. And with each day I thought, “I think he can run again!”
I kept my hopes low. But I told Leah and she agreed about how much better he seemed. It seemed that his leg had stabilized and the muscle was returning.
Sled dog season began in late September for us. And I took Koivu out for a light run with the slow team. I let him do two miles before I put him on the kart. He fought me for a 1/4 mile before I let him off. He ran freely - at the front of the team - for the rest of the run.
Koivu was back.
I kept his miles limited, he only got to run with the slow team once a week until November. Then he was able to run twice a week. I watched for signs of soreness but he looked strong.
And this past weekend, at the age of 11, Koivu resumed his racing career in Wyoming. Racing itself isn’t really important, but Koivu loves the environment. He loves the crowds, the people and of course, running on the snow with the most beautiful scenery around us! He ran 9.2 miles as the leader of the slow team on Saturday and another 9.2 miles as leader on Sunday.
Leah took the faster, younger dogs, and did great. I was more than thrilled to take out our older slower dogs. It is likely the last time they will all run together in a race. Koivu, Fleury and Cookie are all 11. Mandy is 10 and Spezza is 9. We finished in last place with so many happy seniors.
But no one was as happy as Koivu. Well, maybe me and Leah were...
After running close to 20 miles (combined days), he was the only dog on our team (and in the whole yard) wanting to run even further.
We love this boy so much and could not be more thrilled that he can still run - limited as it may be. 😊
