Monday, December 3, 2012

Joyful Puppies

Kyat and Wallce's pups have grown up so fast and definitely became quite the characters! They are surely keeping us entertained with their crazy play times and happy attitudes! With that being said here are some fun joyful photos for you all to enjoy, and to hoping you all have Happy Holidays to come!
Fort Illio's Coud Of Dust (Dusty) (F)
Fort Illio's Accelerator (Ace) (M)
Fort Illio's Adrenaline Rush (Addy) (F)
Fort Illio's Rapid Breeze (Breeze) (F)
Fort Illio's Dashing Mad (Dasher) (F)
Fort Illio's Full Throttle (Throttle) (F)
Fort Illio's White Lightening (F)
Fort Illio's Rubber Patch (Patches) (F)
Fort Illio's Elusive Renegade (M)
Fort Illio's Rev It Up (Rev) (M) There are some female pups available out of this litter, if interested email me at fortilliokennels@yahoo.com ~Fort Illio~

Monday, November 5, 2012

Fall Photos...

Happy Trails!! ~Fort Illio~

Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Puppies Puppies and more Puppies!

Kyat had her babies on the evening of Oct 27th and into the day on Sunday. She did an awesome job whelping 10 puppies! We have 7 girls and 3 boys! 9 piebalds and 1 black and white like dad (Wallace). There will be female pups available out of this litter. Email me at fortilliokennels@yahoo.com with any interest in this litter. Kyat has finished the Iditarod in 2008. And now is a key leader on my race teams. Wallace is always on the race teams driving hard and is one of my main leaders as well! I can't wait to see the potential these pups have! The litter theme is The Fast Litter! Because both parents are fast and driven! Here are the names! Ft. Illio's Rubber Patch (Patches) (F) Ft. Illio's Rev It Up (Rev) (M) Ft. Illio's Accelerator (Ace) (M) Ft. Illio's Elusive Renegade (Renegade) (M) Ft. Illio's Cloud Of Dust (Dusty) (F) Ft. Illio's Rapid Breeze (Breeze) (F) Ft. Illio's Speed Of Light (Lightening) (F) Ft. Illio's Dashing Mad (Dasher) (F) Ft. Illio's Be There In A Jif (Jiffy) (F) Ft. Illio's Adrenaline Rush (Addy) (F) Now some photos to see these special babies!!
Now some other news, we also got two pups out of my friend Maggie Weys litter she had this summer! So meet Drake and Velvet!
Drake
Velvet Other news is the teams are doing great this season and we have quite a few up and coming leaders! That's all the news for now! ~Fort Illio~

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Up Before the Sun!

With it being a very warm August, we have been getting up around 4-4:30 in the mornings to make sure we get two teams out before the temperatures rise rapidly! Here are some photos to enjoy!
The boy team
Dixie and Kaleeta leading the girl team
Ruby says "This is my dish!"
WaYlon's first time in lead and he ROCKED!!!

Doggie Sponsors!

It's that time of year again! Race entries are starting to get filled out and sent in for registrations! And of course we are all dreaming about snow, and the upcoming season. The farmers almanac is stating that the New England region is going to get lots of snow and have very cold temperatures... I say BRING IT ON!!! We are very excited to now have two teams entering the races this year! Yes you heard me right, MOM will be racing the puppy team in the 30 mile races this year!! So with saying this any help that you provide will help us get that much closer to the races and meeting our goals this year with our very talented team of dogs. You can do any type of donation you wish, we nor the dogs are picky at all! :) But to help give you some ideas we have a sponsorship page on our website. http://www.fortilliokennels.com/Sponsors.html Or you can sponsor your favorite dog for just $50.00! http://www.fortilliokennels.com/SponsorADog.html We really appreciate any help that you may be able to provide! Happy Fall!!!!!! ~Fort Illio~

Friday, August 3, 2012

Fall is approaching!

Not to much has been happening this summer, dogs have been lounging in the sun and getting pool/play time every day. A little over a week ago we were able to get the teams out one cool July morning, but sense then the weather has gone back to being miserably hot and humid! We all will be glad when Fall arrives and we hear the thundering of the dogs feet cruising down the trails! Just keep telling ourselves...SOON! No girls have come into season yet, so no puppies as of yet. Hoping that changes soon, but time will tell. I just got my school schedule for classes this fall, and needless to say that is leaving us pretty excited for the upcoming season. If we have a good winter, this will set us up nicely for some big things here at Fort Illio! More information on this topic later. Well just doing a quick update, not too much going on, but here are some photos to share! ~Fort Illio~
Wallace "Did somebody say SNOW!?"
Ruby and Hinder
New Kennel sign up!
Puppy team wallowing through the tall grass!

Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Can Am 60 2012

The plan was to do the Can Am 250 this year, but mother nature had different plans for us. Where she didn't give us much snow to get a team well prepared for the 250, we had to use plan B. We had a strong 15 team of dogs that were all capable of doing the Can Am 60, picking only 8 of the 15 was the hardest part of the race! That is one thing we really excelled in this season was not having very many injuries to deal with. If we did have an injury occur we would quickly recognize it, which resulted in a faster recovery! This is something that can make or break a team! Anyways back to the 8 dogs chosen for the race team: Kaleeta, Watt, Roland, Kyat, Wallace, Waylon, Rimbey and Lumos. These 8 dogs ran hard the whole 60 miles. It started snowing at 7 A.M. on race day. Temps were a little warmer than I would like for my Sibes, but that's something we can not control. To be honest I wasn't exactly all that thrilled with it snowing, because I knew that was going to result in a tougher run. All I can say is thank god for having big dogs, they were a huge asset for a trail like that!

We cruised through the first section of trail which is the rail bed. About 8 miles out I came up on my friend Lindy Howe, who just lost her team. We both were kind of shocked to see her team tear up over the hill with out her. There was no doubt about it Lindy was worried and very concerned for the safety of her team, especially sense they were yearlings! I told her to get on and we paddled our butts off up that hill, that same hill that her yearlings made look like a breeze with out their musher! About 2-3 miles we came to a safety station, where the gentlemen told us that her team was 4 minutes in front of us. Good we have hope of catching them sooner than I thought! Sure enough we get around the corner and here comes a snowmobile to rescue Lindy and reunite her with her team. Her team was screaming to go, and all looked like they were having a party without their musher! Lindy pulled her hook and she was gone like a flash in front of me.

The run to the checkpoint was uneventful other than helping Lindy. Team was doing very well, and keeping a great pace despite the weather conditions we were dealing with. We arrived at the checkpoint, signed in and out, grabbed some water, and hit the trail. Shortly passed the checkpoint, I did a brief stop and snacked the team with their all time favorite meat, BEAVER! If you don't believe me, just ask Waylon! Back on trail the team kept up a good pace, and none of them showed any signs of being tired. About 5 miles from the finish, Lumos had to stop and pee, and what do you know Wallace was harness banging!! I was shocked, I would think after over 8 hours of running, you would think he would be tired. Or he remembered the trail, it was only his 3rd 60 mile race here! We finished in 12th place with a time of 9 hours and 5 minutes! Team came loping in, with no injuries, and none of them laid down at the finish line! That put a smile on my face for sure!!

I want to take the time to thank all that support team Fort Illio, all of you make it possible for us to get to the starting lines of these races. To Mom, thanks a bunch, you are one in a million for sure, and without all your excellent dog care/training, and sewing skills Fort Illio would be screwed!! Thanks to my boyfriend Dj, my brother Eddie, and sister in law Ally for taking care of the other half of Fort Illio that are too young or too old to travel to the races while we are gone. And also thanks to my step dad Mike for always believing in me, and supporting me through this EXPENSIVE hobby/addiction!!! I couldn't do it without any of you!

This has been one of the best seasons ever, and truly hate to see it end. But all good things must come to an end, to make room for better things. So in saying that, BRING ON NEXT YEAR!!!!!

~Fort Illio~


Team taking off! Photo taking by Sue Cobin

Team finishing! Photo taking by Kevin Quist

Phoenix moves on....

Phoenix has been a great girl to have here at Fort Illio, and we will certainly miss her, but we know our decision to place her in a home where she can excel was the best for her. She went to live with our friends Mark and Katina Domenach. Phoenix has been running lead for them with former Illio dog Storm, as well as Blazer. She has been an asset to their team, and we know their team will excel with her at the front of their teams! Thanks again Mark and Katina for giving yet another Fort Illio dog a great home!! Enjoy! Below are some photos of Phoenix in her new home.

Monday, January 23, 2012

Eagle Lake 100 Mile Sled Dog Race

When entering this race back in September we had thought that our team would of been much further a long in training by the time we reached the starting line. However that was not the case, due to icey training conditions a couple weeks prior the race, and lack of snow throughout the whole month of December. We were very fortunate for the Dionne's (thanks again guys!!!) to allow us to come and train with them for a weekend on sled, so we could see how our team was doing, in order to make the decision as to run the race, or sit this one out. Our longest run prior the race was only a 35 mile run, and that was on the fourwheeler. After a lot of hemming and hawing we decided, why not and just give it a shot! See how things go, and just take things step by step! Pretty much let the team decide this one! So Friday morning prior to the race, we packed the truck up, loaded the dogs, and off we went up to Eagle Lake Maine.

At the drivers meeting we were assured trails were in great shape, and they weren't lying one bit! Trails were beautiful despite the lack of snow we have had this crazy and bizarre winter! Looking at the weather for Saturdays 100 mile run, was a little worrisome for me, where they were suspecting 36 below zero with windchill. I have run dogs several times at 20 below...so 16 degrees more couldn't be that bad right!? Well all that worrying was pointless, because believe it or not I was actually sweating on the way home during that cold night!

So on to the details of the race! Well I finally picked my team, I think by Friday night. Team was going to be Kaleeta and Watt in lead, Roland and Bones, Kyat and Marocca behind them, Wallace and (Yoda), Rimbey and Lumos in wheel. Yoda had an infection come on quickly Thursday, so we decided to let him sit this race out and allow him for a quick recovery. So to replace Yoda, was a hard choice, but now after the race, I know I made the right decision, it was my yearling Waylon. So that left behind Dixie, Cree, Phoenix, Aryan, Yoda and Rosa. All for numerous other reasons.

Finally it came time to hook up, after hanging out for 3 hours at the race site getting the sled ready and dogs ready, and wait around wait around... We have all 10 dogs hooked up, and several handlers to get me up to the starting line, which was quite a jaunt away. I grabbed Jaye's handler Shane, and had him on the sled with me to help hold the team back, here I was thinking it's only 10 dogs, it won't be that bad. Well they were so strong that all the helpers were having such a hard time hanging on to them, and trying to hold them back, while Shane and I were both on both brakes on the sled. By the time I got to the starting line, 3 people had let go of the team. We got there with one minute to spare, Watt slipped his collar, so Mom had to run up and get his wiggly head in the collar. Meanwhile Shane is telling me how strong my team was, and how impressed he was. At that point my knees just started shaking uncontrollably! Nerves were starting to kick in! Before I could blink an eye, team was shooting out of the starting chute like a rocket, and poor Ken, Holly and Amy Dionne's Dad, almost got ran over, but he jumped in the snowbank with style!

The first 50 miles was a very nice run, like I said before, trail was beautiful! Some plowed roads, that kept you on your toes, but all in all a very good run to the half way point. We made it there before dark, and in 5 and half hours of run time! Very nice run! Once arriving at the checkpoint and getting the team parked, I must announce this because it just amazes me! After running 50 miles, you would think one would be tired...but while we were all trying to park the team, and get everyone situated, Rimbey chewed his neckline. I guess he just never gets tired. I was a little worried about my yearling Waylon who was on the team. I wanted to make sure he was going to eat and rest well. Which he did perfectly! We had 4 hours of rest time, and was set to leave at 8:54 P.M. I went and checked on the team a few times to make sure all were resting well, and were comfortable in their warm jackets mom made them, and their fluffy straw beds! Which they were! About 10 minutes to 8 o clock, I set out to bootie and get things packed up for our departure. Finally the crew came to get me, to help me maneuver around an apple tree and two cabins. Once around all of that 4 of the handlers let go, and left two handlers bringing me up to the starting line on a plowed road. Now knowing how hard of a time we had bringing my team to the starting line was in the beginning, you really think just two handlers was going to hold my team on a plowed road? Definitely not! We ended up leaving a few seconds earlier than scheduled due to no one being able to hold my team! And off we went. The run back was also very good, dogs were all doing great! We finished at 2:52 A.M. With a time back at 5 hours and 57 minutes. I was shocked we did both runs under 6 hours! We came in 11th out of 11 finishers, but 13 teams were entered. So we finished our 2nd 100 mile race! And I am very proud of the team! I just want to thank everyone that has helped me a long the way in one way or another, we couldn't of done this without your support and knowledge! So thank you!

~Fort Illio~