24
THE WEIRS TIMES, Thursday, February 11, 2010
musheR from 1 Stinson Lake in Rumney,
competing in races like the where Sue worked as direc-
Sandwich Notch 60 and the tor of education at the Hunt-
longer distance Can-Am er School, a not-for-profit
races in northern Maine as school for AD-HD boys.
they built up their kennel Sadly, the Ellis’s lost Birch,
of pure Siberians, known as the matriarch of Team Tsu-
Team Tsuga. ga and Mike’s engagement
They both attended Plym- present to Sue, not long
outh State College and Mike, after they got back to New
who is a self-employed land Hampshire last spring. The
surveying contractor, said loss came only a few months
that he had already caught after they had lost Wyatt,
the mushing bug in 1996 the sire of the Team Tsuga
when he asked Sue to marry line.
him and she accepted a “Losing both Wyatt and
puppy, Birch, as an engage- Birch within a couple of
ment present. months was tough for us,
After the couple married but in some way it’s fitting
in 1997 they built a house, that they would go togeth-
Team Tsuga’s food supply for the Yukon Quest was bagged and dropped off at a
a kennel, and a lifestyle cen- er. When Wyatt bred Birch
depot near Fairbanks, Alaska, and then trucked to drop-off points along the 1,000
tered on their sled dogs near and began our kennel in
mile trail.
courtesy Photos
Assisted Living at Taylor Community
Team Tsuga carries a reminder of its New Hampshire origin,
the state motto, on the back of its pickup truck dog carrier.
Just right for y
1998, our future changed looking after me, just as I

ou
forever. We’ll miss them, had done my best to look
or someone you love... but always remember and after her. I’ll always believe
cherish what they gave the more you do for your
• Safety and security is in a private and
us,’’ says Ellis. dogs, the more they’ll do
friendly atmosphere
He says that one of for you,’’ says Ellis.
• Three nutritious and delicious meals his favorite Birch stories Their new home is about
everyday
comes from the first time a mile from the Yukon
• Housekeeping and laundry service
he reached the finish line Quest trail that Ellis says
of the Can-Am 250. “runs 1,000 miles into my
• Local Transportation
“I was overjoyed with soul.’’
• Trained and caring staff 24 hours
accomplishment but He says that the Quest
• Personal assistance with regular tasks
exhausted as I worked embodies all the reasons
through the dogs at the he and his wife uproot-
as needed such as dressing, grooming
truck in the parking lot in ed their lives and moved
and bathing
the dawn light of a sub- nearly 5,000 miles from
• Medication management zero morning. Laying on their home near Stinson
• Programs, staff and facilities to promote
the snow with Birch, rub- Lake.
your fitness, health and happiness
bing her legs, she reached “Wild open spaces and
up to my face to chew the the freedom to explore
• Pets Welcome
ice out of my beard; biting them with the dogs that
• $0 Entrance Fee options available
and breaking the ice like have become our best
she would do to clean her friends. The day-to-day
Do you really want to spend another
own feet or legs. She was lifestyle of mushing is what
winter taking care of your house?
careful and methodical keeps us so immersed with
and didn’t stop until my the dogs, but the Quest is
Call today for more information or to arrange a tour.
face was clear of ice. After our proving grounds,’’ Ellis
www.TaylorCommunity.org
524-5600
250 race miles and our wrote on the Team Tsuga
first distance finish line as blog.
a team, my Birch was busy See musheR on 25
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