Jesse the Bushman and OthelloOthello refuses to leave the dogyard, he sees the strange man standing at the other end and knows something is up. It is the day he is to go from being a racing sled dog to becoming a bush dog, one that helps pull a freight sled, which is crucial in a state with no roads. Othello is allergic to something, noone can figrue out what, and that makes him unfit for racing.
The previous owner, Sigrid the Iditarod musher, stands next to the new owner, Jesse the Bushman, and carefully asks all the questions a good caretaker would ask; do you have enough money for food, will he have a house, will you mind his food allergy? Translation: will you love him as much as I do. Jesse the Bushman promises to take good care of this special dog, which means so much to Sigrid the Iditarod musher. It is the third dog she ever got, he came out of a kennel and from a musher she admires. He is a happy dog who doesn’t get into trouble, eats well and never complains. Othello is getting a Shakespeareian end to his racing career, sealed by a tearful farewell.
Fall time in Alaska is like dog musical chairs. They go from being racing dogs to bush dogs, from bush dogs to racing dogs, race dogs to pets and pets to race dogs. It’s a merry-go-swap with all the mushers minding the juggling act by bardering anything and everything, or sometimes just giving them away for free. It seems the trade winds have missed their latitude and hit the arctic.
