Table of Contents* Featured Inuit Dog Owner: Brian and Linda Fredericksen * Lake Nipigon - Solo * Inuit Dogs in New Hampshire, Part II * The Inuit Dogs of Svalbard * Update: Uummannaq Children's Expedition * Update: Iqaluit Dog Team By-Law is Official * Poem: Instinct * The Homecoming: Epilogue * Product Review: Sock Sense * Tip for the Trail: Wet Equals Cold * Janice Howls: More Than Meets the Eye * Page from a Behaviour Notebook: Hunting
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From the Editor.....
A Wolf in Dog's "Clothing" ISDI enthusiasts in both Europe and North America have received a number of inquiries from the United Kingdom regarding "Northern Inuits". Questions are coming from owners, would-be owners, barristers defending client owners and even a veterinarian who wanted to know why her prospective client owner insisted that his "Northern Inuit" receive only a half-dose rabies vaccine. On one hand I am glad that the ISDI has developed a visibility to the point where we are sought out to answer, as best we can, these questions. On the other hand, I am as upset as ever that some monosynaptic buffoon coined this term, a deception which has caused much confusion. The ISDI's position is that the name "Northern Inuits" is deliberately misleading, an effort to feign legitimacy, a cover up to disguise the genetic identity of hybrid canids: dogs bred with wolves or other wolf hybrids. That this was deemed necessary by the miscreant who did it leads to the conclusion that this "mastermind" acknowledged both negative public opinion as well as the reality of wolf hybrids posing a real danger to humans. As co-founder of the Inuit Sled Dog International, I am disgusted that the name of the domestic breed of dog with which I am associated has been bastardized into the label for this phony, pseudo-breed. The Inuit Dog is tough enough in its own right but doesn't need to be mistakenly confused with the lousy reputation that wolf hybrids a.k.a. "Northern Inuits" deservedly own, especially when, to the lay person (or possibly the victim) they may look alike. I am equally irritated by the name, which is grammatically incorrect. The pleural form of Inuk is Inuit (not Inuits) and both words refer to human beings. The common names for Canis familiaris borealis are Inuit Sled Dog, Inuit Dog, ISD, CISD, GISD and maybe/hopefully there is an R(Russian)ISD. The terms best used to describe a wolf hybrid are "mistake" and "loaded pistol". And now, with that off my chest and having made it available to any future dogoid inquiries, please enjoy the rest of the Fan Hitch! Wishing you smooth ice and narrow leads.
Sue
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