A few words about this very special pedigree.  Salishan was sent out to the West by her breeder, Debbie Premus of Boreayl Siberians and Chinooks, because her bloodline was such a good match for so many of the males in the area.  Not only that but she's been a true delight to live with.  She's smart, loving, and active without being hyper.  She's taken to harness training with very little effort and shows great promise.  She will, I hope, contribute her strong and sturdy body to her pups.  Salishan brings a fresh influx of genes courtesy of her sire, Quest.  Quest is a purebred Chinook whose ancestors came down through the COA's UKC-sanctioned Cross Program.  Quest himself is the first generation of purebred; his dam River is 7/8 Chinook and 1/8 Siberian; his grand dam Alyeska is 3/4 Chinook and 1/4 Siberian.  And before her, was Tok, the product of a champion show and working Siberian bred to a champion show and working Chinook.

Rafferty is product of Susan Fletcher's and my multiple generations of joint breedings.  His father, Rodion (littermate to our Lolo), was sadly killed in a house fire during the fall of 2009; though we had hoped to breed Rodion to Salishan, he'd only had the chance to sire the one litter before he died.  Rafferty's dam, "Indy," is a sweet girl from our Quinnie and WoodsRunner Rorik.  She was kindly loaned back to Susan by her custodial owner Laura Morgan when Laura's family responsibilities made raising a litter difficult.  Rafferty was the top pick male of their litter.

As one of the Frontier pack, Rafferty's days are full of jobs.  He goes to the daycare where Susan supervises up to forty dogs at a time, keeping the peace.  In the evening he's the demo dog for the classes she teaches.  There's also the occasional weekend class and in cool weather he's starting work on his UKC Weight Pull title.  While staying here at Rain Mountain, he easily fit in.  His roos and woos were quite cheerful, reminding me of his aunt Lolo, who was also one of his favorite playmates, and he excelled at the Chinook game of Toy Parade.  Likewise, here at the Rain Mountain Slug Ranch, Salishan has many jobs.  She is Taga's sidekick on all critter hunting expeditions and plays with Rex, the World's Best Next Door Dog.  She's been raising her "little sister," packmate Quileute, and riding along with me on sales calls and shopping trips.  All in all, her days are busy and active. 

Pups from this breeding should have excellent proportion and substantial builds.  I anticipate good coats and rich coloring with black or palomino markings.