This is the start of another chapter I am working on. Willy was one of the best sled dogs I ever owned.

Willy was born to my lead dog Magnolia while we lived at the Out Post in North Park Colorado. His sire was an old wheel dog named Patch. Patch was a George Atla, Garth Wright dog. I had bought him from Roger Knauer. Patch was one of the toughest sled dogs that I ever owned. He did pass these traits on to Willy along with his strange sense of humor.

Willy was so timid when he was young that he would bite out of fear. We worked hard to help him over come this problem. When he finally became friendly he went over board the other way. He developed the fastest tongue in the west, along with his drinking problem. Willy not only drank beer but his drink of choice was tequila and orange juice.

We discovered the problem at our first party. Willy drank so much that he passed out. He would drink out of every glass at the party. I noticed that he was staggering. At first I thought he was sick, but then I smelled his breath. I new right away what was wrong with the boy, his was drunk. We warned every body to watch their drinks because there was an alcoholic at the party with the fastest tongue in the west.

The next time I saw Willy he was face down in the dirt passed out. I thought I could be in trouble for contributing to the delinquency a minor (Willy was only 6 months old). I left him where he dropped hoping to teach him a lesson, damn I hate being wrong.

Our Memorial weekend party lasted for 3 days eventually they went for 5 days as people would start showing up early and stay an extra day to help us clean up the lodge. This gave Willy more time to drink in later years. This was our first party at the lodge and it was Willy’s first party ever.

Willy was in a bad mood the next morning due to the killer hanger over he had. I thought this might cure his alcohol problem, I was wrong again. The next time I saw Willy his had his face in somebody’s unguarded glass of beer, but he was in a much better mood.

One of Willy’s favorite practical jokes was to stand behind someone so that his head was kind of in front and to the side while his body was behind their legs. While they were petting his head he was peeing on the back of their leg. You gotta love that sled dog humor. His was also big enough (29 inches at the shoulder) and fast enough to get out of there in a hurry if he was caught, but most times he wasn’t. The victim usually didn’t realize it until Willy was across the yard and rolling on the ground laughing himself silly.