Setting a New Paradigm
Eden Ethical Dog Sledding Promotes Joyful Lives for All Sled Dogs! Deborah E. Blair, M.S., Ph.D. - Eden, VT
J oyful, wolf-like singing greets the dawn of a new day from the canine
members of the UN-Chained Gang. When morning feeding preparation starts, they celebrate the morning by running free – racing each other, spinning, leaping and cavorting. There are no chains for these international, sprint champion, Alaskan huskies at Eden Ethical Dog Sledding. International champion, Jim Blair, has spent twenty years setting a new paradigm for the racing and dog sled tour industries – one from which he hopes the public will learn that ethical sled dog care is possible. “I hope that people calling for one of our educational dog sledding adventures, will ask questions and learn about how we are different. We want people around the world to dialogue about the abuses of keeping sled dogs on chains or in small cages. Although it takes intensive work and effort to keep a commercial kennel of sled dogs ethically, the Working Dog Laws that support abuse need to be changed. Sled dogs, and all dogs should be free, have a legally required retirement with veterinarian care, respect and love.” Tour guests are amazed as they walk into a room full of sled dogs, lounging on couches and sleeping by the woodstove. The UN-Chained Gang ages range from young, learning to race and tour, to older, retired race champions. Soon the tour guests - children and adults -are cuddling with their new, canine friends as they ask questions and learn about the history and sport of dog sledding, ethical dog sledding and kennel care.
12 4 Legs & a Tail
The UN-Chained Gang
Quality of life for all sled dogs is the vision of Eden Ethical Dog Sledding. Warm weather activities for the UN-Chained Gang include swimming in the ponds on the 140 acre farm/oasis in the northern Vermont mountains. The Gang enjoys the outdoors in large, fenced paddocks that keep them safe when not supervised, daily walks and runs, toys, ball playing, rides into town for errands. The dogs love to frog hunt the ponds, chase squirrels at the many bird feeders, cuddle, race and play for tour guests. It’s a heart ache that legally, many race and tour sled dogs of Canada and the USA must endure short, sad lives on chains in dog yards of 75, 90, 150, 200 dogs, and more, with little or no time off their short chains in the warm months. Because their kennel owners want high profits in the winter it is easier, and much less expensive to keep them chained, with no love and exercise, when they are not being used for paying guest tours. Many people visiting with the UN-Chained Gang say that they feel they have had calming and therapeutic benefits. Additionally, there are children and adults who claim they have had their dog phobias healed. One woman from Manhattan exclaimed, “I don’t need to go for a sled ride – I would rather spend two hours on the couch with Simba and Rambo cuddling – they have reduced my stress far more than going to yoga seven days a week!” Twenty years ago, champion athlete, Jim Blair, was appalled when he found the industry standard, legal under most state and provincial laws, for keeping race and commercial tour sled dogs. Having a close relationship with dogs since birth, he knew that he had to find a way to demonstrate that sled dogs are sensitive, intelligent beings who want to share their goodness with humans. Given a good quality of life, off chains, respected and loved, sled dogs can amuse, amaze, cuddle with tour guests, and turn around to win international races. To help keep dogs safe, during training, exercise and guest tours, Eden Ethical Dog Sledding has the only engineered and built dog sled trail system in North America. Consisting of miles of trails, built over 16 years – it is a real roadway for sled dogs – snow in winter, and warm
weather Dog-Sleddin’-On-Wheels. Unlike straighter state/provincial snow mobile trails – specialized, for dog sledding, trails allow tour guests to experience how race champion dog teams perform - from lead dogs to team members – following proper commands, “Gee” (Right) -“Ha” (Left) – “On By!” (Don’t chase that squirrel!). These unique trails give adventure guests a real sense of wilderness dog sledding in the beauty of Northern Vermont’s mountains. Currently, the warm weather wheeled cart, winter snow sled tours, and rentals of the homelike cabins, fund Eden Ethical Dog Sledding. In hopes of raising public awareness, they are exploring going nonprofit to raising funds for more educational and therapeutic activities, as well as an endowment, so that ethical, loving care of sled dogs, and educational, healing and fun tours can go on for generations. Deborah E. Blair, M.S., Ph.D. is a Jungian Psychotherapist and mythopoetic author. With the UN-Chained Gang she created the first in a fantasy book series for children and adults – The Luna Tales – Book One – The Wisdom Runners, to share the joy, healing, and adventures that these incredible dogs promote. Profits from sales of the books will go to autism, canine causes and the work of Eden Ethical Dog Sledding in its vision of quality of life for all sled dogs. The Luna Tales is available on Amazon.
Summer 2017