Mutual love: Frank Moe gives Indy, his blind sled dog, a big hug. Indy was a rising star on Frank’s sled dog team, but then lost vision in one eye and then went totally blind. Not wanting to give up their dog with a big heart, Frank and Sherri Moe slowly worked Indy back into the rotation on the main racing team. Call it blind love, if you will, but Indy is once again a star. Photo courtesy of Frank Moe
When Frank Moe entered his 12-dog sled team in the recently held Gunflint Mail Run 100 mile race, his team included Indy, a blind seven-year-old Alaskan husky.
No big deal, he thought.
But watching a blind sled dog run with a team of other dogs opened a lot of people’s eyes, and the story went viral.
One of Frank’s race handlers posted a picture of Indy and Frank on the team’s Facebook page during a break in the race, and the story blew up. “We didn’t have any idea that would happen,” said Sherri Moe, Frank’s wife, who helps with the dogs and sometimes races a team when she’s not too busy with her career as a mental health counselor.
People Magazine posted a story about the race, with additional print and TV media continuing to contact the Moe’s about their blind sled dog, said Sherri, who came by the newspaper office on Monday, January 20.
What happened to Indy to cause him to lose his sight? Frank was asked.
“Indy was one of our rising stars when he was two and finished the Beargrease Marathon in 2015 in 6th place,” he said. “That next year, he lost the sight in his left eye. It’s called lens luxation, and it’s a rare genetic issue. Indy was still able to compete that year, 2016, with one good eye. He trusted his buddy Popcorn to run on his left, and he was still on our main team.
“That spring, the same thing happened to his right eye. We were so sad for him but just took care of him and did what we could to help him get used to being totally blind for the next year. He was still happy and healthy otherwise.”
“In 2018 and 2019, Indy started the season training with the main team but wasn’t comfortable going very fast, so he moved to running with the older retired dogs,” noted Frank. “This fall Indy again started training with the main team, but something was different. Indy was more comfortable going fast again.”
Frank and Sherri kept Indy on the main team throughout fall and early winter training. When it came time to pick the teams for the Gunflint Mail Run, Frank said to Sherri, “Indy’s one of the best 12 dogs. He needs to be on the team.”
The Moes considered making Indy a house pet, but Indy loved to run, and he would have had to leave the kennel to join the Moe’s two other house pets, Petunia, a pig, and Penny, a mouse. In the end, Indy’s endearing sweet spirit won out, and the Moes decided to keep Indy with his teammates in the kennel.
When it came time to set up the team for the Gunflint Mail Run, Indy was placed in the “wheel” position, just ahead of the sled and just behind the rest of the dogs.
The dog that is the “wheel” needs to be strong and fast, said Frank, which fits Indy perfectly, he added.
And, said Frank, “Indy had a great race. At the end, Indy acted like he wanted to keep going. He was so happy. It was like he knew what he had accomplished and was saying, ‘Wasn’t that fun? Let’s keep going!’ And he will.”
On the day, Frank’s team finished in eighth place in the highly competitive Gunflint Trail Mail Run.
As for Indy, he seems to live by a quote from John Milton, a sixteenth century English poet and intellectual who said, “To be blind is not miserable; not to be able to bear blindness, that is miserable.”
As some of you know, Frank was a two-term Minnesota congressman who gave up politics to move to Hovland with his wife Sherri to raise and race sled dogs. It was an eye-opening career move. One he said he hasn’t regretted.
Due to a lot of small injuries, Frank decided to drop out of the long Beargrease Marathon and enter the Beargrease 120. Those races begin January 26, 2020.
“Stephanie Love is again going to run our fast team in the Beargrease 120. Hopefully, with a little rest, everyone else will be ready for the UP 200 in February,” said Frank. “That means we’re going to have two teams in that race. It’s faster and shorter than the Marathon and we have no doubt that Indy will again shine.”
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