I have too many thoughts for a tweet, so I wrote a letter about what this community means to me. These past years with you have been the adventure of a lifetime.
Twitter might not make it, but these dogs aren't going anywhere. ❤️
xo,
Blair
#uglydogs
Every now and then I hear discussion about whether dogs smile, at least in the way we humans do.
As my contribution to the debate, here are some of my favorite photos of sled dogs smiling.
Three little kids walked up to Flame and pet her.
"You know," Q said, "you should always ask before you pet a strange dog. Not all dogs are friendly to new people."
The littlest girl stepped forward bravely. "But," she said, "this dog is wearing clothes."
Y’all, having sled dogs has been so good for my body image. And not because mushing is a joy-filled, physical outdoor activity, although that’s true. It’s actually something much simpler than that.
Because of increasing coronavirus precautions, the Iditarod is closing checkpoints early and has withdrawn Q from the race. They are flying his healthy team of 14 dogs back to Anchorage. It’s heartbreaking. Q told the dogs they did so well that they won Iditarod early.
Right now, we have 20 dogs in training for the Iditarod—and 14 pups will enter the actual race. Allow me to introduce you to the BraverMountain Varsity Team.
It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done. And also the most beautiful. The dogs and I took care of each other the whole way. Stories to come, but for now we plan to nap (and eat) for days. All dogs and humans are doing great. xoxo
A friend has been helping run the dogs and she pointed out that I haven’t conveyed on twitter the extent of how large, strong, polite, cuddly, and well-adjusted Spike is. It’s probably time to start fixing that, so here are 30 seconds of Cuddle Spike.
I brought the puppies outside to watch the sunrise, and they were grunting and making their puppy sounds. Not five minutes later, I heard barking and ran out to find Flame chasing off a HUGE coyote, who had presumably come for breakfast. Nanny of the year.
a few years ago our taxidermist friend Owen gave us a ride to the hospital for something and the doctor asked “who’s that?” and we were like “he’s a taxidermist” and without batting an eye the doctor nodded gravely and said “it’s good to be prepared”
Looks like I’m stuck here too, and Flame has accomplished her true goal of getting us trapped in a kayak together.
We’ll walk out when the lake freezes.
See y’all then.
The end.
I bought a box of huge strawberries yesterday at the grocery store and then I had a dream that I was trying to eat one but it was moldy and covered in gross fuzz and then I woke up and Flame had put her foot in my mouth.
The point is, THEIR BODIES ARE SO DIFFERENT. But the differences aren’t good or bad. They just are. We don’t love Talese more or less because he’s skinny, or Colbert because he’s a chonkster. The idea makes no sense. It’s absurd.
I see a lot of people talking about staying home to practice social distancing, but here’s your reminder that you can go out, too—walking, hiking, camping, kayaking, whatever you’ve been meaning to try. It doesn’t have to be big. Nature can keep your spirit healthy, too.
A few hundred miles into the race, teachers started hugging me in villages. “We haven’t been able to buy new glue sticks in six months, but now my classroom will have a garden and a project to get girls into engineering!” one woman told me. I happy cried all the way up the Yukon.
@BlairBraverman
Blair we got bored while you were gone.. so ugly dogs funded like 80 grand worth of school fundraisers primarily in Alaska it's been fun. And we all had a panic attack on Wednesday but that's normal for us. You know just the regular old things.
Grinch is standing in the rain (by choice) and whining about being wet and I relate very much because I, too, like to complain about the situations I put myself in.
This article is beautiful and I’m so proud! Remember that when you hear about the first trans person to do something, it means the first *publicly* trans person. Trans folks are doing amazing things everywhere, regardless of what they choose to disclose.