Local musher Donny Poulin recently competed in the Pedigree Stage Stop Race in Wyoming this past month. Poulin grew up with dog sled racing and has been in the sport since he was a young boy.
“I was born into this sport,” said Poulin. “My dad had dogs since he was 15 years old and was into dog sled racing, which led to me getting into it as well. He taught me everything from a very early age.
“I ran junior races when I was eight years old and been racing for over 40 years now.”
When it comes to sled dogs, many people have the misconception that the ideal breed are the huskies that have long hair and distinct markings. Poulin has a type of husky that is bred typically for racing. Although he participates in the sport, to him, his sled dogs are like members of the family.
“Pretty much every dog we have, we’ve raised ourselves,” said Poulin. “We have some that we’ve purchased from different kennels over the years, but for the most part, we breed and raise our own dogs.
“We mostly have Alaskan Huskies and they’re not the type of dog that people like to associate in the movies. These dogs have short hair and are more of a race type looking dog. A lot of people think the dogs would be massively huge dogs, but that’s not the case. These dogs are known for speed and endurance.