The Adventures of Nanga Parbat

We were on a mission.

Last October we drove to BC to take a look at Armadillo Trailers in Enderby and just for fun we thought we’d also head to Logan Lake to see the summer home of the sled dogs that run near Lake Louise with KingMik Dog Sled Tours. Several dogs were ready for retirement and we thought it wouldn’t hurt to just take a ‘look’ at them. I’d been longing to get a dog but I wasn’t sure about getting a 65 lb. sled dog. After all, sled dogs are agile and bred to be runners. We weren’t sure we were ready for that.

Take a look at that pup! Of course we had to bring Nanga Parbat aka Kanga, the retired sled dog home with us.

Nanga Parbat?? What kind of name is that? Well the joy of adopting a dog is that he comes with a story and we discovered that our new pet had exciting tales to tell.

Alaskan Life

Kanga was born near Carrot Creek, Alaska. He lived with the teams that were part part of Martin Buser’s Happy Trails Kennels. He and his siblings were named after Himalayan Mountains and so he came to be called, Nanga Parbat. This was the name on his collar wore when he came to us. Meagan from KingMic Dog Sled Tours changed his name to Kanga. Perfect! Kanga Kobewka sounded just right to us.

As a two year old this puppy ran in the Iditarod in 2016 with musher Tim Pappas. How exciting is that? A pup who lived this exciting life outdoors with his pack would take time to adjust to his new home. Would we have to house train him? Would he pull us off our feet when we walked icy city trails this winter? Would he get attached to us?

After a long trip Kanga arrived at his new home. Soon he found the perfect spot for a retired pet.

We decided to end our day watching a movie about … well, dogs of course! This truly confused Kanga as you will see here.

Kanga is an Alaskan Husky – which means he is a working dog, bred for endurance, speed, intelligence, and the ability to be a team player. I can happily say that Kanga is definitely on our team! He was easy to leash train and sticks right next to us when we head out for walks. He understood house training with no hints from us. His biggest challenge was managing stairs, something he now does with ease. Does he pull? Why yes, he does, he pulls me when I go cross country skiing and I now have a harness just for that purpose. Bonus!