Snow Dogs

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samoyed_(dog)

In case you missed it the first few hundred times, I am a crazy pet person. My clear preferences veer directly towards cute, fluffy critters, specifically dogs, in particular working dogs, with Snow Dogs as favorites. Sitting regally at the top of the furry food chain, the Malamute reigns supreme. I also carry a sentimental fondness for Samoyeds, because my first puppy was a pretty little princess named "Snowflake". A sweeter pet for a little girl would be hard to imagine, and a Sammy pup can melt the most frozen heart.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siberian_Husky

Today is the first snowy day of the winter season for me, and I always think about my dogs on mornings like these. For them, it was like the best of every major human holiday combined into one event: the wild anticipation of Christmas morning, the bombastic explosiveness of Fourth of July fireworks, and the exciting thrill of an Easter egg hunt; the strongest delights we know, rolled into an unbeatable experience. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaskan_Malamute

I love watching a snow dogs' joy. They make graceful leaps through the snow, burying their muzzles into the drifts, deeply taking in the different senses of snow, then pulling out their snow-covered noses in exhilaration. This is "Go Time", so ingrained into their nature, it will never be exhausted. I understand their happiness on days like this, the first snow of the year. This is their time to shine. I so greatly admire their tenacity, intelligence, independence, maturity, skill, and the incredible emotional connection they build with their human families. One does not "own" a snow dog, per se. You enter into a pact, a common agreement to share time together for awhile, to help each other out. It's majestic—an actual, real bond based on mutual respect.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sled_dog

They empathize, endlessly adapting. They possess the brain functions to understand about 200-300 spoken words. In their environment, a slavish devotion to a human just doesn't cut it, because a sled dog must make snap decisions, both independently and within the pack, to keep everything running smoothly. In conjunction with our species, it remains a feat unsurpassed in the animal kingdom.
I love their strength as much as I value their spectacular beauty; resilience coupled with an innate good nature. A snow dog will thrive in the harshest conditions to come out the clear winner, and have the best time doing it. That's excellence.

Well I stand up next to a mountain
And I chop it down with the edge of my hand...yeah
Well I stand up next to a mountain
I chop it down with the edge of my hand
Well I pick up all the pieces and make an island
might even raise a little sand...yeah
'Cause I'm a Voodoo Child
Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child baby

Lemme say one more last thing

I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time,
I'll give it back right back to ya, one of these days, hahaha
I said I didn't mean to take up all your sweet time
I'll give it right back one of these days...yeah
And if I don't meet you no more in this world
Then I'll meet you on the next one
But don't be late,
Don't be late!
'Cause I'm a Voodoo Child, Voodoo Child
Lord knows I'm a Voodoo Child 

Hey, hey, hey!

Voodoo child, baby

I wouldn't take no more without askin'

Especially another one.

Hey!

 Jimi Hendrix, Voodoo Child