The Fan Hitch, the official publication of the Inuit Sled Dog International, is published 4 times a year.  It is available to those who do not have access to the world wide web by subscription for $4.50 USD/$8.00 CAD to cover the cost of printing and mailing.  U.S. subscription requests should be sent to Sue Hamilton, Editor, The Fan Hitch, 55 Town Line Road, Harwinton, CT  06791, USA.  Send Canadian and international requests to Geneviève Montcombroux, P.O. Box 206, Inwood, Manitoba, ROC 1PO, Canada. * Contents of The Fan Hitch are protected by international copyright laws.  Neither photos, drawings nor text may be reproduced in any form without written consent.  Please forward these requests to the Editor at qimmiq@snet.net * The Fan Hitch welcomes for publication your letters, stories, comments and suggestions.

Palootok, the dog                           Montcombroux photo

Palootok, the stamp                                                              

The Good, the Bad and the 'Eskimo' Dog Stamp

by Geneviève Montcombroux

If it were not for Sue Hamilton's interest in the e-bay auction, I would never have known that my late Palootok, a magnificent red male, had gained fame on a stamp - in Lesotho, of all places!

Many months ago, an artist contacted me to say she was doing research and wished to have some pictures of a Canadian Inuit Dog. Good-naturedly, I selected my best ones, including some of Palootok, and sent them to her.

The good is that she recognized Palootok as the best dog and painted him. The bad is that she had omitted to mention that it was for a stamp, destined for Lesotho, a small country located in the middle of South Africa. The worst is that despite the brochure I included with the pictures, she called him an 'Eskimo' dog. Due to its location, it is obvious that Lesotho does not know what snow is.  So there is my Arctic dog, standing in front of a stone wall, with some tropical trees in the background. 

Ah, well, I imagine Lesotho is proud of its stamp.