Glen Korstrom
Northern News Services

INUVIK (Feb 26/99) - Alan and Marilyn Fehr are helping Inuvik become known as a conference centre as they parlay their love of dogs into a successful business venture.

"We ran dogs in Aklavik and then when we moved over to Inuvik six years ago people started asking us for rides all the time," Marilyn says.

"So we thought maybe there's a market for a bit of a business here and we started to run dog tours."

The couple left Vancouver to spend six years in Aklavik and then six years so far in Inuvik. With four kids, 14 dogs and a house, they have no plans to leave.

Memorable riders last year included a group of Mexicans who had never seen snow.

Based on all the giddiness coming from inside the canvas tent located just off the Bypass Road, women from the Mackenzie Diocese in Inuvik for the 35th Catholic Women's League convention were similarly impressed.

"It was a fabulous trip being out with the dogs. It was exciting," says Marie Cameron, who is from Calgary and on the league's national executive.

"It was beautiful and yet so serene. The dogs are yapping out here, they're making so much noise but as soon as they're on the trails they're so quiet."

To Cameron, what helped make it a great ride was seeing how much the dogs were enjoying the exercise. They did not want to turn back when Alan Fehr turned them around.

Atop the dog houses are signs with names such as Scamp and Shaggy, Patch or Ricky.

"A lot of the names are from the kids. We have a Balto and a Steel from the movie Balto," Marilyn says of the dogs that range in age from one year to about 12 years old.

"There's a Raven who is black and looks like a raven. And Willow who devoured a willow tree when he was younger."

And though to some, it may seem like all fun and games to have dogs, Marilyn stresses it is a big responsibility.

"Having dogs is a way of life, not a hobby, so every day we come out and feed them. Sometimes we come out two or three times a day to check on them," she says.

"And it's year-round too."

Both give the dogs runs and both know the Delta trail network intimately.

"We go across Navy Road down by Stanton's across the river and into the Delta that way to trails out there so we really tailor the ride to what people want," she says.

"There are other mushers in town now so we've got beautifully groomed trails out there. Our dogs are all really friendly. A lot of people can't believe how friendly they are, they think they'll be mean and vicious."