Dogs and enthusiasts bond over unique sport
Photo by Elizabeth Dunham
Piper, a patterdale terrier, competes in her first International Weight Pulling Association competition last weekend in Kalkaska.
KALKASKA - It was the first meet for little Piper, a patterdale terrier weighing in at 34 pounds. Piper, a rescue, was determined to pull the sled the required 16 feet down the chute to her owner, Wendy Lake.
“Break the sled!” shouted the judge to the cart marshals, as they moved the sled up to the starting line, “unsticking” it from the snow. “Hook the dog!” added the judge, as Lake brought Piper around in her University of Michigan harness to the front of the sled.
Couched on by Lake, Piper successfully pulled 182 pounds across the snow.
“In 2001 I started with my first dog and have been doing it ever since,” shared Lake, as she lovingly pet Piper.
“The dog chooses whether or not they will pull,” she explained. “The owners can’t touch the dogs.”
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