INUVIK
With the dog sled races at the Muskrat Jamboree two weeks away, Dan Heilbrunn and Christine Menno are in their element.

Dan Heilbrunn takes a licking from his first sled dog, Kodo, who has now retired from active service. He and his partner Christine Menno are two of Inuvik's most prominent mushers. - Shawn Giilck/NNSL photo

Heilbrunn has been one of the dominant racers at one of the jamboree's signature events over the last two years. That's a lofty status for the East Three teacher who took up the sport rather by accident about seven years ago, but it's not at all surprising with the assistance of his partner Christine Menno.

The soft-spoken Menno is the "silent" partner in the family but in many ways she's the behind-the-scenes powerhouse.

She's not generally inclined to do interviews but she opened up a little March 14, and Heilbrunn was happy to chip in with more.

"Christine has been interested in sled dogs since she was a kindergarten student at Sir Alexander Mackenzie School," he said. "When she was asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, she drew herself mushing a dog team.

"For Christine, keeping a dog team has been a childhood dream and she is proud to keep up the tradition. Her grandfather, Colin Allen Sr., also kept a dog team here in the Mackenzie Delta."

She was influenced by some of the best from an early age.

"In elementary school, her favourite books were about sled dogs - Danger the Dog Yard Cat by Libby Riddles and Granite by Susan Butcher. Both authors were Iditarod Sled Dog Race champions. Libby was the first woman to win the Iditarod, and Butcher was one of Alaska's most beloved mushers, winning four Iditarods, until she died of cancer in 2006."

Heilbrunn said the couple's entry into the sport came when they adopted their first dog, Kodo, about seven years ago.

Kodo was a street dog in Inuvik, he said, and was likely looking at a short, hard life or being put down by local officials if he had not adopted her.

At the time, he didn't know much about dog sledding.

"Almost nothing, really," he said.

Nearby mushers, particularly Herbert Blake, were a font of knowledge and assistance to him, Heilbrunn said.

It's been a steep learning curve since then, he said, but an enjoyable one.

He began experimenting with Kodo pulling a sled, and she eventually became his first leader.

Now retired, she's still a lively ball of energy, and Heilbrunn clearly has a soft sport for her, although he tried to dodge a facial tongue bath. Kodo, however, was having none of it.

Currently, there are a handful of local mushers, some of whom have been quite high profile, such as Marie-Anick Elie, who has placed well in several well-known races, such as the Fur Rendezvous World Championship Sled Dog Races in Anchorage, Alaska.

Heilbrunn's primary interest, though, isn't in racing. That's partly because there's a lack of races held in the NWT, except at the jamborees, and partly by inclination.

That a bit of a change in philosophy for him, since he's concentrated on winning the jamboree races over the last two years.

In a way, it marks a return to his roots, which is primarily about enjoying looking after the dogs and the tranquillity of making runs out on the land.

He and Menno have always loved dogs and caring for them, he said, and that's still their primary focus.

It's part hobby and part lifestyle.

"There's not a lot to do here, so the dogs help give us something to do," Heilbrunn said with a smile.

He's also begun some selective breeding with his dogs, which number about a dozen.

Heilbrunn said he's looking to develop a more husky-like dog with a thick luxuriant coat.

Just as importantly, he said he's also working on developing a breed with a certain "mental toughness and resiliency" that sometimes isn't found in the modern racing breeds that have a large splash of pointer and hound strains in them.

He wasn't being critical of those dogs, but he said more traditional husky strains have a "mindset" that allows them to run for days if necessary, that lends itself to better pacing and "always having something left in reserve."