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THE DAILY ASTORIAN • FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016
MUSH!
No snow? No problem
for Ocean Park woman
By LYNDA LAYNE
For EO Media Group
O
CEAN PARK, Wash. — Tamra Kellogg
loves the sport of dryland mushing and so
do her four Siberian huskies.
Recognized worldwide, this activity is
applauded for being an effective way to keep
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While Kellogg might eventually compete in
dryland mushing events in the Northwest, for
now, it is strictly a recreational endeavor for
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needed breaks from her work-at-home business
of medical transcription.
The dogs get so excited when they know
they’re going mushing, Kellogg has had to
develop a quick system of harnessing, hook-
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Whether she leaves directly from their Ocean
Park home or loads the dogs in her van for a short
trip to another starting spot (Leadbetter State
Park is a favorite), Kellogg is sure to have the cart
and ganglines ready. It only takes her about 45
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Lynda Layne/For EO Media Group
Tamra Kellogg often passes curious onlookers, both human and canine, during her dryland mushing runs around Ocean Park. She’s
working on getting her dogs to ignore distractions. She says, “They’re getting better.” Three of these four dogs came from rescue or-
ganizations. Front, from left to right, are Karma and Mars. Back, left to right, Clutch and Sassy. The only one Kellogg purchased as a
puppy from a breeder is Sassy.
Started with one husky
Eight years ago, Kellogg made the decision
to get a Siberian husky. At that time, she wasn’t
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she found a breeder is Wisconsin who had one
pup left from a litter.
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said she didn’t understand why this pup was
the last of the litter, because she was one of that
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short, and knew it would be quite a task to get
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being that this 13-week-old puppy wouldn’t be
allowed to travel unless the cargo area was above
a certain temperature. Luckily, they made it at 1
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Sass begins bikejoring
As Sass grew, Kellogg began harnessing her
and using a towline to have her pull a mountain
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mushing activity done as recreation or in some
cases used off-season to train sled dogs for rac-
ing. Although Sibs are commonly used for this
activity, many other breeds also adapt well to it.
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took advantage of the Long Beach Peninsula’s
beaches. And about the time Sass was 18-months
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Enter a rescue named Karma
By this time, Kellogg had become familiar
with dog rescue groups. She contacted a woman
named Deb Blake at Harbor Rescue in Aber-
deen. Blake had a Siberian husky named Karma
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ily. Blake brought the dog for a meet-and-greet to
the Humane Society in Long Beach and Kellogg
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Karma settled in to her new home in Ocean
Park and it wasn’t long before she proved her
strength.
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smiling, adding that was, of course, an exag-
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not believe. I call her my bull in a China closet,
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And then came Clutch
From the same rescue group as Karma, along
came Clutch, who quickly showed his new
owner his unique personality. While most Sibs
use a howling-type voice, somewhat like the
call of a wolf, Clutch prefers barking. And he is
the only one of the pack that is a true foodie. He
gets excited about each meal. He is currently on
a weight-loss program, because his X-back har-
ness has become a bit snug.
And last, but not least, Mars.
Another Sib also found himself in a transi-
tional state. Mars was in a shelter in Wenatchee.
Through a woman named Tanya Quaranta, who
coordinates a lot of rescues, this dog also came to
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year old when he arrived.
Basic training
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Chronicling the Joy of Busin
Clutch models his padded X-back harness.
This style, Kellogg says, is comfortable for
the dogs and allows more pulling power.
Clutch is a foodie and Kellogg says they’re
working on a weight loss program, so his
harness will soon fit better.
explained Kellogg. Wearing a harness and leash, RQLW³,ZDONHGEHKLQGLWDQGKHOGRQZKLOHWKH
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Eventually, Kellogg had brakes put on that
when they all pull a cart, distractions get their
attention and Kellogg has to stress to them that ¿UVWFDUWEXWVDLGWKH\ZHUHQ¶WVWURQJHQRXJK
Not like the two carts she has
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now. The one she has been using
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They’re certainly not aggres-
‘She could for about three years weighs 118
pounds and has strong brakes.
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pull a
Manufactured by a company
friendly, they want to be in the
called Arctis, Kellogg purchased
middle of everything, like when
we go out and there are people semi-truck. it, lightly used, from a man in
Kentucky. The brakes, she said,
walking or riding bikes, or dogs
But she
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stop them. It’s got dual brakes and
they’re fresh, they’re a handful,
like you
a bigger brake in the back with a
Kellogg said. If she harnesses
that goes down. I usually use
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would not lever
that when I stop, so the dogs can’t
with them right from her house,
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believe.
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Cart No. 3
I call her
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Because Kellogg does see a
my bull in distant future of competing with
before walking can be successful.
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her dogs, she recently had a wide-
a China
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tired cart made by local welder,
if I’m out on the beach mushing
Bob Girouard of Bay Machine
closet,
with them and we’ve gone for,
Works on Sandridge in Nah-
say, a mile, I can unhook them because of FRWWD ³,W¶V PRUH RI D UDFH FDUW´
from the ganglines and we can
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her forceful for racing and beach runs in the
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personality.’ VDQG
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Dogs before the cart
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Tamra Kellogg
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brakes, like the two newer carts
dryland musher
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she has now. It was, in fact, inad-
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equate in many ways and she
Following mushing groups on Facebook and
wishes she would have known more about what
to look for when she purchased it. And, because doing a lot of research is helping her learn about
dryland mushing dogs are driven without the aid the competition part of the sport, but she said she
of leashes or reins, four powerful dogs in front of still has a lot to learn and for now, her business
a cart can be a bit daunting. For example, Clutch workload is too heavy to even consider getting
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not the weight that gets me. It’s their pull power.
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Soon, there might be six
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Kellogg has a friend in Surfside, Kathy Pres-
in the Columbia-Pacific
Region
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Even though it weighs in at 118 pounds, this cart is balanced enough to roll to the hitch
and rack on the back of Kellogg’s van. It is raised up and secured for transport.
ton, who has three Sibs. Preston has purchased
harnesses for two of her dogs. Kellogg has extra
ganglines. She hopes to soon start working Pres-
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Preston and Kellogg have mulled over some-
day starting a Siberian husky rescue organiza-
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had no idea how many Sibs need to be rescued.
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S’no joke, they’re snow dogs
Because Kellogg was born and raised in
Idaho and has been on the peninsula for 11 years,
she understands how her Sibs feel about rain, ver-
sus snow.
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out mushing, the dogs are busy and focused and
don’t seem to be as worried about the wet stuff.
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inside the house with me. I’m really glad that I
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After a mushing run, Kellogg will sometimes
bring the dogs inside. She said they’ll assume
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When they’re out working
Regardless of where Kellogg takes the dogs
on mushing runs, she said people take photos,
shoot videos and many give her a thumbs up.
On one of her beach runs, a local photogra-
pher named Rob Matthews shot a picture as Kel-
logg drove the Sibs near the water. She didn’t
know about it at the time, but Matthews put the
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that and Kellogg treasures that picture.
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ing with the pups. We went by Colleen’s restau-
rant. Everybody inside waved and had big smiles
on their faces. It’s so cool to see people so happy
and amazed with the pups, while they’re doing
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