About the musher: Shawn McCarty, Ely, MN (USA)
Q: How many dogs do you have?
A: The kennel I am running out of has about 100 dogs.
Q: How old were you when you started using dogs to pull a sleigh?
A: 23
Q: What commands do you use to instruct your dogs, and what do the commands mean?
A: “Alright” to go, “whoa” to stop, “gee” to turn right, “haw” to turn left
Q: How fast can you go on a dog sled?
A: I ran over the edge of a 20 foot cliff once on a dogsled, I don’t know how fast we were falling exactly, but definitely faster than I wanted to be going when we hit the ice below.
Q: Do you have a favourite dog on your team? If so, do you keep it a secret from the other dogs?
A: Flora, yes I keep a lot of things secret from the dogs, that is one of them.
Q: If I was going to become a musher, what is the most important thing I would need to know?
A: How to be patient
Q: What has been your happiest moment while out with your dogs?
A: Not sure what the happiest is, but some of the nights on this race, running under the northern lights, are high on the list.
Q: What do you feed your dogs? Have you ever tasted dog food? Would you taste it if you were dared?
A: Ground Mink and Kibble, I haven’t tasted the mink but I have the kibble, It taste great in a bowl of milk, like cereal.
Q: Are you good with other animals?
A: I don’t know, I’ve been trying to teach my goldfish how to sit, and it isn’t going very well.