Willow

SPONSORED BY JAMES FRYE

Willow is out of Sibersong's Mamma Mia SD and Kelim's Merlin SD. Mia is actually Denali's almost-identical sister, which makes Willow her niece.

For over a year, I followed the Sibersong planned litters in hopes to get another dog closely related to Denali. Another pairing between Denali's parents was made, but sadly did not work out. When I heard Mia was finally bred, I knew I had to jump on the opportunity. I'm so glad I did!

Willow has grown into what I consider to be the ideal sled dog. She's friendly and sweet out of harness, but a total spitfire when it's time to run. She's grew up to be Denali’s shadow—they often synced their strides while running and even would lounge in the same position. She's one of the smallest dogs on my team but has the most heart.

In fall 2024, I noticed Willow would hold her rear left foot up on her toes after running. I didn’t see her injure it, nor did she limp or show signs of slowing down while in harness. It also seemed to resolve after 15-20 minutes, but it was persistent as the season continued on. So began a series of vet appointments: first with our regular vet, who suspected a soft tissue injury. We were referred to an orthopedic vet, who couldn’t quite pinpoint the problem without better imaging. They referred us to a sports medicine vet based out of Cornell. After over a year of chasing appointments, Cornell determined that it was actually a small mass in between the tendons of her foot. They attempted to sample it, but it was inconclusive. All indications point to it being a very oddly placed lipoma, though.

Due to the placement and the very slow growing nature of the mass, we’ve opted to just keep an eye on it. It’s more likely surgery would cause more pain and trouble than the mass itself. While she’s still quite capable and active, she is mostly retired from running with the team at 11-years-old. She seems to prefer solo adventures with us, anyway!