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THE SKAGWAY NEWS.
Skagway singers excel PAGE 3
AMHS hiring PAGE 7
February 25, 2022
Contract awarded Page 3
Sk a g w ay, A l a s k a
‘It’s going to be a good season’ for
$1.50
cruise traffic
By Gretchen Wehmhoff Predicting the volume of cruise passengers headed to Skagway this summer is an art, spattered with luck and a touch of virus mitigation. It’s been a constant struggle to get cruise ships to Alaska since March 2020. As of Nov. 1, 2021, cruise ships are permitted in Canadian waters, relieving the challenges of the U.S. law, the Passenger Vehicle Services Act, that requires foriegn flagged ships to stop in a foreign port when traveling between U.S. ports. In 2021 Canada blocked cruise ships from their waters. Last year the Alaska congressional delegation of Senators Murkowski and Sullivan and Rep. Don Young was able to pass a year-long reprieve on the law in a race for time to salvage any cruise season for Southeast Alaska. Several cruise lines were able to prepare ships, sometimes a 60-day process, and bring a limited number of passengers north to Skagway. Only Southeast saw a cruise season, with no ships headed to Anchorage, Seward or Valdez. This month, the delegation introduced legislation to extend the provision for another year to insulate tourism from cruise ships should Canada decide to reinstate a policy prohibiting cruise ships at their ports. “Alaska’s economy and our communities should not be at the mercy of decisions made by the Canadian government and I will do whatever is needed to ensure Alaskans can prosper,” said Senator Murkowski in a Feb. (see page 8- Cruise)
Photo provided by Mo Thompson
Clients of Mo Mountain Mutts sit at attention and wait for a treat. The dogs get picked up from their homes for a 45-minute pack walk. See more photos on page 12.
Dog bus captures hearts, attention of Internet By Melinda Munson It’s raining cold, large drops that pool on the treacherous ice, making it the kind of day that discourages dog walking. Regardless, Mo Mountain Mutts pulls up to Seven Pastures in their shiny white mini bus and nine dogs of varying sizes disembark. They shed their leashes and head to Skagway River under the direction of Mo and Lee Thompson, forging their own path through the foliage. Once the pets reach the sand, they sprint, sniff, wrestle and socialize. Mo offers advice for introductions with the canines whose names range from Whiskey to to Tater. “Don’t stick your hand out, be indirect.” “Don’t put your face in their face.” “While they’re sniffing you, do nothing.” “You cannot win them over by trying to talk to them
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and touch them.” Basically, everything the average person does to greet an unfamiliar dog is incorrect. Mo says she grew up in the dog world. Her stepfather was a musher and breeder involved with the American Kennel Club. As a 12-yearold, Mo showed and handled dogs. Running a full-time dog training and walking business in a small Alaskan town is her dream come true. Last year, Mo was working two jobs: cutting hair and walking dogs, picking them up with a minivan. She was approaching burnout. “I had to choose one or the other. I mean, it’s not too hard to choose between playing outside with a bunch of dogs and staying inside a building,” she says. She quit cutting hair in August 2021 and committed to dogs full time. Lee also took a gamble,
turning down a city job with benefits to help drive and manage canines. He wants to be available when their child is born -- Mo is about seven months into her first pregnancy. When the Thompson’s van broke, the couple invested in a 14-passenger bus that captured the attention of the Internet. Now, it’s common to see clips of Mo and Lee on social media, welcoming their dogs onto the vehicle, issuing flight attendant-like directions: “please keep your tails out of the aisle” and distributing complimentary liver. They have their own Instagram, YouTube and Facebook accounts. One of their TikTok videos has received over 6.5 million views. They’ve been featured on Go Fetch, Right This Minute and The Mirror. MTV has also been in touch with the duo. Companies have
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reached out for product placement and BarkBox gifted a load of toys. The walkers exercise three to five dog groups a day. Each two-hour slot allows for a 45 minute walk. The packs generally contain around 12 dogs. The clients get picked up from their homes and secured to a bus seat by their leashes. The bus travels all two miles of Skagway’s roads at about 25 miles per hour. Dogs must have a certain level of training to participate in the walks. Mo Mutts wear e-collars. Mo emphasizes that her collars are high-end and produce more of a “vibration” than a shock. She says she uses them mostly when the animals are out of hearing range or are distracted. For Mo, the hardest part of the job isn’t controlling the canines, it’s dealing with the (see page 12 - Dogs)
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