The Alaskan Pug: A whimsical story involving Pugs
The Alaskan Pug
First, it’s important to explain the differences between the Alaskan pug and the normal pet variety. The Pug dates originally to 400 B.C., was once the pet of Tibetan monks, and flourished in the sixteenth century as a lap dog. Since the temperament and personality of the Pug is already tenacious, brilliant, devilish, competitive and hardy, people began to dream of using the Pug to compete in various canine sports. Therefore, towards the end of the nineteenth century, breeders began deliberately enhancing certain traits in their litters to establish performance characteristics. Soon there were Pugs competing in protection sports, agility, police work and dog sledding, among other things. Thus: The Alaskan Pug.
The Alaskan Pug is actually shorter than its pet counterpart by a good inch or more. The fur is extremely dense and triple-coated to withstand arctic temperatures. The strength of the Alaskan Pug is remarkable: one Alaskan Pug alone has pulled a standing weight of 4 tons, from a standstill! The temperament of the Alaskan Pug is wild, nearly feral. It is well known that you must never look one directly in the eyes, and all training must be done strictly through positive reinforcement, as several deaths have occurred when certain handlers tried to train through force and intimidation.
For example, the worst incident involved Bailard Ed Turnangle, who lost his temper when he found “Moonpie”, his three-year-old Alaskan Pug, chewing on his wallet (indeed the wallet was nearly devoured when he came upon the scene). Mr. Turnangle made the mistake of trying to “pin” Moonpie (a technique made popular by those who believe in dominating one’s dog, holding them down on the floor until they submit) – and the result was a tragedy. An Alaskan Pug will not submit. The Chief of Police said it was the worst scene he’d ever come across. As it turned out, the widow decided to keep Moonpie, who was running about merrily as the Chief completed his investigation. Everyone laughed and agreed, as awful as it was, you couldn’t blame the Pug, who was, after all, like a Force of Nature.
The Story Itself
In 2000 a man named Johnmartin Z. put together a team of Alaskan pugs to run in the famous dog race, the Iditarod, held every winter in Alaska. This race is traditionally won by husky-type dogs, large and strong, wolf-like. Mr. Z. put together a good team of sixteen hardy, strong Alaskan pugs, all female. He spent months conditioning the team, they pulled a wheeled sled miles and miles through the forests of Montana (the team must have pulled him through Glacier Park a hundred times – with special permission) and across the plains of the Midwest. Suffice it to say they were ready to compete when they arrived in Anchorage, Alaska.
Spectators guffawed when they saw the team of prancing Alaskan Pugs at the starting line. Animal rights groups protested what they assumed was inhumane treatment of a breed completely unsuited to even be in that environment.
The first two days of the race proved everyone wrong. The other teams recoiled when they saw the Pugs approaching: eyes wild, mouths wide, the sound of their snorting trumpeting their arrival. The Alaskan Pug team was unstoppable, and by evening of the first day they made their stop in Ruby: 615 miles from Anchorage. The newspapers reported that Johnmartin could hardly stop them, they continued to pull even after he called out his “Whoas!” several times, in fact, several of the Pugs snarled and snapped at him as he tried to remove their harnesses. However they settled down nicely as soon as food appeared.
And so it continued, the Alaskan Pug team far in the lead until they passed through the village of Galena. The Pugs were snorting their way through deep snow when they caught sight of a moose off the trail. “Gee! Gee!” Johnmartin yelled in a vain attempt to control his team and keep them on course. But the lead dog, Josie May, didn’t obey him. She led the team in a mad stampede after the moose. They ran for miles, miles and miles after the fleeing moose. Mr. Z reported later that he felt lucky to even keep the sled upright, and when the team finally caught the moose (a full-grown adult male) and killed it, he was relieved.
The team refused to leave the carcass for two full days. Whenever Mr. Johnmartin tried to approach them, harness in hand, they swung their bloody heads towards him with growls and snarls so low and deep that he feared for his own life, and retreated. Finally, they were done and began to frolic and race about, as a Pug will do when happy. Mr. Johnmartin was able to harness them and off they went.
Unbelievably, the team managed to reunite with the course at White Mountain, 300 miles from where they had strayed off it. They were still ahead of the majority of teams, and by the time they reached the finish line at Nome, they were once again in the lead! Never before in the history of this long and grueling race had a breed such as the Alaskan pug even tried to enter, much less won!
The dogs were checked by a veterinarian to be sure they were in good health before their victory could be announced. Not only were they healthy, the team was prancing and playing games as only a pug can do – racing in circles, each with a toy in their mouth, eyes rolling wildly around. They tried to play tug of war with the vet, but after one of them pulled him off of his feet with the force of the tug, the veterinarian cautioned Johnmartin to control his dogs, and the exam was finally finished.
Mr. Johnmartin and his team were then surrounded by the press, photographers and applauding well-wishers. People were clamoring for puppies, asking if they could cross the sturdy Alaskan Pugs with their huskies. The team was immediately booked for appearances on Good Morning America, and other television shows like it. One can only imagine the havoc they wreaked there, but that is another story.
*Editors note: Please keep in mind this is a story. Not a word of it is true, it was submitted by Ms. Pollard for entertainment purposes only, but what a great visual it provides!
