Illo Arrives!

Illo, our new 6 1/2 year old Hedlund Husky

Illo arrived this morning! He originates from Kim Fitzgerald, the founder of the Hedlund Husky Preservation Project and Mush Knik Networking. Illo is our Phoenix's father and is known to be a steady leader and, typical of the Hedlund Husky, a mild mannered boy. He brings new Hedlund blood into our kennel as his sire contains Joe Redington Sr. lines. Joe Redington Sr. is the "Father of the Iditarod" and produced traditional Alaskan Husky lines. We are so excited that Illo has joined the Points Unknown family and if all goes well, we are considering him as the sire of Topa's first litter!

Neil drove eight hours 'round trip over night to meet Illo's transportation in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Upon his arrival he ate some kibble and spent some time checking out his new back yard with Sweet Pea who will be his kennel mate until we discover others with which he may like to socialize. He even got a long brush from Neil and seemed to enjoy it.

His build is amazingly like Sweet Pea's who is not a Hedlund Husky but our own Zulu line Alaskan Husky. Illo is about an inch taller. The facial markings are very similar with Illo's white flash between the eyes being narrower. His head is wider and his eyes are smaller. Although Sweet Pea has a dense winter coat, Illo's appears even more dense as, compared with Sweet Pea, Illo has not yet fully shed his winter coat.

The dog yard didn't erupt when we took Illo into the back yard as it does when new dogs visit the kennel. They must have sensed he was one of them. He did get a tour of the kennel area and met each dog through the fence. At this time, everyone got a bit excited but they soon quieted down. Illo and Sweet Pea are now in the kennel that abuts the dog yard but touches no other kennels so that he can get settled in and not have nosy neighbors until he gets used to all of the new things around him. Tonight, Neil and I will let dog groups out so that they can all casually meet through his kennel fence.