Meet the members of team Iditarod.  These sixteen dogs will leave the restart line with Todd on March 7th! (L indicates a main leader, l means the dog will run up front)

	SPARE (L): 4 yr old female.  She is one of the fastest dogs we own and one of the hardest driving females we have.  Spare had puppies in our neighbors kennel this year.  After completing her duties as a mother she moved back to our yard to take up permanent residence.  She was a bit late in getting started with training but she has amazed us by doing well throughout the season.  She will hopefully be a big part of our breeding program in the next few years.
	MAVERICK (L): 6 yr old male.  Maverick was one of the first dogs we bought from Alaska (Susan Butcher) and he showed us how a lead dog is supposed to run.  He ran with Todd on the Serum Run and Denali 300 (2002), and Copper Basin 300 and Iditarod (2003), and also ran races with us  in the midwest in 2001.  Maverick ran the ceremonial start because he has not been running quite right.  Todd made the difficult decision to leave him behind.  Maverick has run every mile of every race either of us has run so it was really tough to leave him behind.  On the positive side, when Anne arrived home she put Maverick in a kennel with Regee and we will hopefully have puppies in two months!
	MONTY (L): 5 yr old male.  We bought Monty from Ramy Brooks in spring 2001.  He has tremendous drive and is Todd's best leader on glare ice and other nasty trail conditions.  He ran with Todd on the Serum Run and Denali 300 (2002), and Copper Basin 300 and Iditarod (2003).  He is the go to dog when conditions get nasty.  DROPPED IN GALENA, sore shoulder (bicep)
	THUNDER (L): 9 yr old make.  Thunder comes from Vern Halter's kennel where he was a four-time Iditarod racer.  Since buying Thunder, he has participated in every race Todd has run.  He was dropped in the Copper Basin, but was one of the core still going in Iditarod 2003.  The last two falls we figured he would be old enough that he would now be a puppy trainer instead of a race dog and each year he has proved us wrong.  A true athlete.  Pluto, the famous Alaskan husky stud dog, is his father.  We plan on his genetics being a big part of our kennel.
	GABON: 6 yr old male.  Gabon was another in the first set of dogs we bought in Alaska (Jeff King).  He is a tough, fun dog who is a great traveling companion.  He ran with Todd on the Serum Run and Denali 300 (2002), and Copper Basin 300 and Iditarod (2003), and also ran races in the midwest in 2001. He is very energetic and never lets you forget he is in the yard at feeding time.  DROPPED IN CRIPPLE, ate booties and sore??
	WYATT: 5 yr old male.  Wyatt the one-eyed wonder was poked in the stick on a training run before we bought him.  Despite this he has one of the best attitudes on the team and is always raring to go.  He ran Serum Run and Denali 300 (2002), and in the Knik 200 (2003).  He did not make the Iditarod team last year but is running strong this year.  Despite having only one eye he will run on either side of the gangline. He is a very honest dog, if he isn't pulling all-out something isn't right.  DROPPED IN CRIPPLE, sore shoulder
	JEWEL (L): 6 yr old female.  One of the two hardest driving  females on our team.  She and Spare, the other hard driving female, add several miles per hour when they are in lead.  Todd has to be careful when he uses these weapons.  He also has to closely monitor the speed the team is traveling at when they are leading.  If he just lets them go he could injure slower dogs and his team could shrink in a hurry.
	MIKE (L): 6 yr old male.  A wonderful dog that has been with us since our friend Ralph Peters passed away in a car accident.  We inherited Mike and he has shown us a ton of affection ever since.  He loves to run and he does a nice job up front.  He is excellent on commands.  He is likely to be the first leader that our girls get to run when they are a little older.  What he lacks in speed he makes up for in commands and persistence.  He has been a little sore in his shoulder this year so Todd hopes he will make it a ways before that takes too much out of him and he gets sent to the couch..
	JACK (l): 4 yr old male.  Jack is a small, very shy dog that does not particularly like to be touched.  He has the great trait of always being overlooked in the team because he runs so smoothly.  Todd once described him as "running as though his feet never touching the ground".  While not a driving, command leader, Jack will run anywhere in the team including lead and always keeps going.  Anne thinks of him as the "energizer bunny".
	HERMAINE: 3 yr old female.  Named for the Harry Potter character, this Hermaine is extremely docile and submissive.  Despite this, she is proving to be tough on the trail and looks to be a shoe-in for the race team. Our only concern is her personality and how she will handle the stress of such a long race.  DROPPED IN McGRATH, sore wrist
	TWIX (L):  6 yr old male.  We bought Twix after Todd ran Serum Run and had observed him in Vern Halter's team run by Matt and Sara Hayashida.  He ran the Denali 300 with Todd and seems to keep getting better with age.  This year he has shown himself to have great speed in lead.  He may suffer from seasonal affective disorder.  During the long dark days of December and January he didn't seem to be his perky self.  He didn't run lead for over a month.  Now he is running strong and seems very happy.
	MOLLY (l): 4 yr old female.  While she will sometimes run lead, Molly's strength is helping push the pace of the team when running in swing or point (behind the leaders).  She ran Copper Basin and Iditarod last year with Todd.  She is a friendly but shy dog that is finally starting to warm up to us. DROPPED IN FINGER LAKE, overheating
	MONTANA (l): 4 yr old female.  Montana was the only female from our kennel to go with Todd on the Serum Run and the Denali 300.  She also ran the Copper Basin and Iditarod last year.  She led out of Fairbanks for the restart last year, in large part because of her tendency to chew the tugline of the dog in front of her when she gets excited.  On a final run in training before Iditarod 2003, she set one of the lead dogs free 4 times!  This tug line chewing seems to be under control this year and she is running well.
	JACKSON: 6 yr old male.  Jackson ran Serum Run and Denali 300 with Todd but had an off year last year.  He is running better than ever this year and we are looking forward to having him on the team.  He is proof that if a dog doesn't make the team one year but has run strong in the past he may be worth keeping around.. Jackson has a lot of miles on him this year and doesn't mind the speed we are traveling.  DROPPED IN GALENA, sore shoulder
	FUJI (L): 2 yr old female.  Fuji is one of our up and coming young leaders.  She is friendly and likes to go fast down the trail.  We bought her after last years' Iditarod so this will be her first race with us.  She is full of spunk but still needs to learn after long runs she can keep going.  She often has a sorry look on her face and acts very subdued.  She recovers quickly with a little rest and is excited to go again when we head out.
	HERSHEY: 6 yr old male.  Hershey is another dog often overlooked in the team after he gets done with the vertical jumps he performs during harnessing and the first few yards of a run.  He ran the Knik 200 and was one of Todd's core team in last year's Iditarod. He tends to be controlled by his hormones.  He enjoys marking the trail and advertising to all the other dogs he has been there.  This factor has placed him on the "to be neutered" list. Despite the marking he maintains a strong pull and is very honest.
BACK-UP CREW	The following dogs will run in the ceremonial start out of Anchorage.  In a pinch, they could also join the rest at the restart in Willow on Sunday.
	RON: 6 yr old male.  Ron has the reputation of finishing every race he has started.  He is not as fast as the rest of the team and does not do as well in warm weather.  He will run the Anchorage start, but probably go home instead of racing.  The fact that Iditarod is often warm makes it hard to put him on the main crew.  The cold weather during training this year let him shine and get in excellent shape.  Ron ran the ceremonial start and was bumped up to the race team Sunday after deciding Maverick would not go.  We expect Ron to make it all the way to Nome as long as Todd keeps the team slow enough the first few days.  DROPPED IN RUBY, not pulling.
	ZIPPER: 4 yr old male.  Zipper is Rose's favorite dog.  He ran the Copper Basin with Todd last year, but a minor shoulder injury in Late December put him behind on training this year.  He has a great work ethic though and should Todd need him, Zipper would be more than willing to head out of Willow.  But he is a bit too far behind the main group so he will leave Willow only if absolutely needed.
	BELL(l): 7 yr old female.  While not much to look at, Bell has repeatedly proved herself up to the challenge when the going gets tough.  She led the last leg of the Knik 200 for Todd and was going strong in Iditarod until she developed pneumonia just outside of Ruby.  She is currently an alternate for this years' team. She has had some issues with a shoulder that she got a significant amount of time off to recover.  Now behind in training she will enjoy the ceremonial start then take the truck ride back to Healy.
	HANSON: 6 yr old male.  One of Jackson's brothers, he fell behind in training after a shoulder injury in December.  He ran Iditarod last year with Todd and we were sorry to see him move out of the race pool.  We have debated selling him but if he stays healthy there is no reason he couldn't make the team next year.
	REGEE (l): 6 yr old female.  Regee is another tough little female.  She has run lead in several races, but does best when there is another team to chase.  She ran Copper Basin and Iditarod with Todd last year.  She has driven every boy in the kennel nuts in the past few days.  Being in heat is fine with her, she enjoys flirting with all of the boys.  This combined with a sore shoulder she picked up just days before the start has bumped her to the alternate list.

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