By Rhea Shinde
I was cozy and warm in my basket when something cold and wet poked my side. I growled and moved away. The cold and wet thing poked me again but this time I heard somebody say, “Wake up, Dawn.” At the sound of my name, I pricked up my ears. Then I heard the voice again, “Dawn, Break is over and we are only ten miles away from the finish line.” This time I recognized the voice to be my mate, Blaze. I remembered that we were in Alaska and that we were set to run the Iditarod race. Not that being in Alaska was new to me and Blaze and the team because we live in Alaska.
I got up and we walked outside. Snow was falling so hard that I could hardly see the pine trees that were just beyond the team. The team Ol’boy, Daisy, Pine, Snow, Star and Bruce were already harnesses up. Matt (the musher) was calling our names, “Dawn, Blaze.” We ran over and Matt hitched us up to the front of the sled since Blaze and I are the lead dogs. He got onto the sled and cried MUSH! We ran as hard as we could. We had to win this race. Kenny’s team had always won the race. For five years the lead dogs for Kenny’s team had said to Blaze and I, “You should really fix that team of yours.” This year I hoped I could say that to them.
We started out, and for a mile we saw no one. But then in front of us we saw Steven’s team. We passed Steven’s team and left them in the dust, or should I say snow? Later we saw Linda’s team and once again another team was left behind. Soon we saw the outline of Kenny’s team through flurries of snow. I barked out orders. The dogs nearest to the sled half ran and half dragged their hind legs to keep us from slipping since we were on ice. The rest of the team ran as fast as we could. Blaze and I steered the team so that we would not run off track Kenny looked back in surprise and his dogs almost stopped they were so astonished in seeing us. They knew their trophy was in danger so they started running faster than ever. But we wanted that trophy too. Once again I barked out orders and soon we were neck to neck. Kenny’s team tried to pull ahead but we quickly passed them. They were quickly gaining when one of their oldest dogs suddenly slowed down. Her paw was sore. Blaze and I exchanged a look. What luck!
We ran on and we saw the finish line. I wish we could slow down so I could savor the moment; we were going to beat Kenny’s team! But we couldn’t. Then before anybody could think we had crossed the finish line. We had WON!! I felt very exhilarated. Ol’boy jumped on Daisy. Pine wagged his tail so hard that Star had to suddenly duck down to avoid getting whacked and Snow and Bruce kept congratulating each other. I could not believe it I had done it! I turned to Blaze and he said, “I am proud of you.”
For a while people just kept coming and coming to pet us and congratulate Matt. After nobody stopped to congratulate us, Matt unharnessed us and hugged us so hard most of us whined and pulled away. We got three sardine treats each!
It was a few months after the race and the whole team was back home. Blaze trotted into the kitchen and there before the fireplace lay Dawn. Puppies were tumbling and playing all around her. She was the mother and he was the father. He nuzzled her then lay down next to her while his puppies scrambled over him. This was his family and this was his home.
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