Qimmimariit

08/10/2025

I miss my Bugsy. He was such a lovable dog. Rest in peace, Bugsy-boo 💗

07/10/2025

Back-to-back sled dog puppies, Cleo and Charlotte at home.

06/10/2025

Togo, a 12-year-old sled dog, led his team through 261 miles of Alaskan hell in January 1925. But another dog ended up stealing his fame.

That winter, a deadly diphtheria outbreak threatened to wipe out the small, isolated town of Nome, Alaska. The closest life-saving antitoxin was nearly 700 miles away in Nenana, and a blizzard was closing in, making flight impossible.

The only hope was a desperate relay of sled dogs. Twenty mushers and about 150 dogs were assembled to race the precious serum across 674 miles of frozen wilderness.

Temperatures plunged to -50°F before wind chill. 🥶

Veteran musher Leonhard Seppala was tasked with the most treacherous leg of the journey. He chose his trusted lead dog, Togo, to guide the team across the perilous, cracking ice of the Norton Sound to save precious time.

While Seppala and Togo battled the worst of the storm for over 260 miles, the final, 53-mile leg into Nome was completed by another musher, Gunnar Kaasen, and his lead dog, Balto.

When Kaasen and Balto arrived, the press immediately declared Balto the hero, and his fame spread across the world. A statue was even erected in his honor in New York City's Central Park. 🐾

For decades, the incredible feat of Togo and the other 18 mushing teams was largely forgotten. It's a reminder that history doesn't always remember the ones who did the heaviest lifting.

Sources: Alaska Railroad Commission records, Dr. Curtis Welch’s medical reports

29/09/2025

Remembering Siu-Ling's trip with Lynn Peplinski, Shannon Hessian and Matty McNair.

29/08/2025

Remembering my much loved daughter, Siu-Ling ❤
Munich, Germany, 22/01/1963 - Ottawa, Canada, 29/08/2016
Always in my heart 💝
(image by Wim Evers)

29/08/2025

Ever wonder where the proceeds from the sale of my books go? Well, here is one. Please read this message from Shari Fox, Acting Director of Ilisaqsivik, a non-profit Inuit charity for Inuit in Clyde River, Nunavut. By purchasing my award-winning books, "The Canadian Inuit Dog: Icon of Canada's North" and "I Am With You Everywhere: Finding Solace in the Mists of Grief," you are contributing to this worthy cause by "supporting land programs where youth and others learn land skills, find healing in dog teaming."

13/08/2025

https://polarjournal.net/greenland-sled-dogs-reveal-a-millennia-old-story/?fbclid=IwY2xjawMJlHxleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFzMHdGM21DTWJMczZ5ZzAwAR6P3p1Q0t3IQfVNUmHEDW5F1MZOL3FnwuLVbgvqzS8IVvFsuLxMhWqvFad4aw_aem_KC2P5KUfAidcyXD24kK4RA

For nearly a thousand years, Greenlandic sled dogs, or Qimmit, have accompanied Inuit communities across the frozen expanses of the Arctic. A recent genetic study reveals the ancient origins, regional diversity, and cultural importance of these four-legged companions.

02/07/2025

I just made a $500 donation to Ilisaqsivik in memory of my daughter, Siu-Ling Han, and her amazing Inuit Dog Team, Atsuli, Toko, Rohde, Lao, Tua, Karhu, Adam, Lewis, Lillian, Bedford, Gigi, Giller, Bugsy, Malone, Bo, and Schubert who are travelling in that great big tundra in the sky. Jackpine and Juniper who were born in 2015 are retired and became house pets. This donation will support Ilisaqsivik's Health and Wellness Centre.

07/06/2025

https://vimeo.com/325418994?fbclid=IwAR15dG30Cs4ra6xe5OXuFy_UzXwozksWwu48GFfklD2EItydAx1YljSBo4Q

Far up the Greenland East coast a young aspiring hunter, 23 year-old Martin Madsen still uses his sled dogs for hunting seals and polar bears as they have always…

18/05/2025

Now that I no longer have a sled dog in my house, it was nice to visit a family friend who adopted Loulou, a retired Inuit sled dog from Iqaluit. I missed Toko. Rohde, Lewis' and Lillian's woowoowoos, and it warmed my heart to hear Loulou go woowoowoo ♥️

12/05/2025

Trying to entice Frances to sleep on her new bed.

08/05/2025

Little Juniper, a baby sleddog visiting Ottawa from Iqaluit