Name: Zeke
Age: 7
Male or Female: Male
Owner: Kailyn Davis
Musher currently running this dog: Kailyn Davis
Team Position(s): Lead, but really anywhere on the team
Number of completed Iditarod races: 1
Current Location: Ceremonial Start Anchorage, Alaska
Date of Photo: March 5, 2022
Temperature: 30F Outside, Dumping snow
What are his/her unique personality characteristics?
Zeke’s personality is really outgoing. He really likes running and everything to do with it. And he’s one that’s always excited to go. We’ll be at a rest stop, and he’s always the first one to pop his head up and start barking to go, and never wants to stop.
What is that litter’s “theme” name?…and other siblings’ names from that litter?
Titan’s litter was named after rockets or other things that have been shot into space, so he is like the Titan rocket. Right next to him, in lead is Phoenix. And then the whole litter is all leaders. And so, then we have Viking and Spitzer, and Maven and Dawn. So Zeke, I don’t know his litter mates at all, but he was actually named by my mom.
What is the bloodline?
So, we actually don’t know what Zeke’s bloodlines are. I got him from the Fairbanks Animal Shelter in 2015. I was walking around the animal feed store in Fairbanks and saw a dog that had no hair, fully covered in mange, bloody scabs, and stuff. And I inquired about what was his story, and stuff and it turns out he was in foster care through the shelter. And so I actually, 24 hours later, went and adopted him. And at first it was a little touch and go on whether or not he would survive. The vets weren’t entirely sure and had tried a bunch of medications and they weren’t really working that great, but they had one more idea. So, we tried one last medication and it started to show improvement, but in the meantime, he was really uncomfortable, super itchy. And so, we started going on runs and it ended up being that running was really the only thing that made him comfortable and really mentally helped him recover. And so, the more we ran, the more healthy he got and he went on to do two of my qualifiers with me and then finished the Iditarod with Al Eischens in 2016. And I didn’t know if he’d want to keep running, because he’s seven years old. But when I started training for my Iditarod this year, just put him in the team and let him come along. Because otherwise, he was just left at home and whining, and he didn’t like being left behind. So, took him along with us and he just kept coming along with us all season. And now he’s going to be one of my main leaders. So, I’m pretty excited to have him.