With around 40 dogs to train and many hundreds of miles to run to get them all ready for the sled racing season, the life of former Minnesota representative and current county commissioner Frank Moe is more than hectic. In Sled Dogs to Saint Paul, Moe relays his experience as a musher starting with his first leader, a German shepherd and border collie mix, Cocoa.
As he trains his growing sled dog team, it seems every other page Moe is flipping off his four-wheeler as the dogs take a sharp turn, hitting trees, or nearly freezing to death. The series of never ending unfortunate events definitely make for a very exciting read.
“It might seem like every time I hooked up my dogs, I got in trouble. That was really not the case. Writing about the runs that go smoothly isn’t as much fun,” Moe admits near the end of the book. “There were always going to be a few crashes or mishaps of some kind. I often said, ‘If you hook up a bunch of dogs to a sled you never know what’s going to happen.’”
Moe’s many adventures with his growing sled dog team make for a very exciting read.
The chief charm in the series of misadventures is the honest and humorous portrayal of the learning curve Moe and his dogs go over as they develop into a team. As the challenges of each race rise up, it is often the perseverance or unique skill of one dog that carries the team through.
Moe writes several times that his long time leader, Acorn, saved his life on the trail.
“Acorn wasn’t the fastest dog in the yard but she was the best leader I’d ever had. She never forgot a trail and looked back impatiently every time I questioned her,” Moe writes. “She was all business. Sherri [Moe’s wife and dog team handler] always tells Acorn to bring me home safe, and I believe she knows it and intends to do it, no matter what.”
Ajax is another dog whose quality came out during a challenging race. Initially, Ajax was a troublemaker, failing to respond to commands and stubbornly charging ahead. In spite of his shortcomings, Moe includes him on the team for their first attempt at the John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon. During the race, Ajax’s energy and stubbornness are invaluable.
“It wasn’t Winnie who brought us in, but Ajax who had stood up when the rest of us gave in to exhaustion. Here was the former sprint dog that I had doubted would make the team,” Moe writes. “It was Ajax who would never stop, who brought us into Finland on that long, cold night.”
Beyond developing into a strong sledding team that bring Moe to the finish line time and again, the dogs also prove to be a strong link to life. They inadvertently help Moe and his wife, Sherri, persevere through life as the two face their own demons and run into speed bumps in their relationship.
Sled Dogs to Saint Paul doesn’t shy away from portraying political issues and most difficult scenarios that the team faces. Nor does it shirk from revealing the weaknesses of the writer himself. In presenting the honest story, readers are able to see how the team grows and thrives despite all the challenges.
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