Shelley braced herself for the rush which she knew would follow. She smiled as within seconds, the Siberian team led by Bobby flew down the lane pulling her standing on the back of the 3-wheeled gig.
Shelley couldn't believe her eyes. Although her city Siberians had limited experience pulling the gig, they took to it like they had mushing all of their lives.
She really shouldn't have been surprised though. They were Siberians after all and she had been assured from a very reliable source that they would perform just fine.
Her friend and mentor who had encouraged Shelley to join her and her established team on these frosty winter mornings at a neighbors farm, was confident that Shelleys dogs could one day be trained to compete with her and her team in a race. And as with any matter regarding a Siberian her mentor was right.
Although Bobby initially made stops to water the flowers along the way, Shelley had reinforced the "on-by" command to train him to not stop his running, the "Gee" command to turn right and the "Haw" command to turn left.
"On by, on by," Shelley hollered to Bobby as he started to slow by a withered azalea bush. She smiled feeling satisfied as Bobby heeded her command and resumed his speed to follow the trail back to the farmhouse to be met by her friend who was waiting for her.
"You see, you see," her friend exclaimed. "I told you they could do it. You just need to continue to practice out here. Why don't we run our guys again in a few days." "Oh yes," Shelley agreed, exhilarated from the run with her dogs. " My dogs are doing so much better, let's run tham again."
Thus, in a few days time Shelley and her Siberians were once again flying down the trail. "Hike, hike," Shelley called out to Bobby as the team streaked down the long straight lane.
The chilly wind whipped against her coat and ruffled the dogs fur as she prepared for the last turn home. "Gee, Bobby, gee," Shelley commanded as her Siberians swung right towards home. Her team worked as one unit and sped down the farms path between the pastures.
Shelley felt like she could burst with pride at the beautiful sight of her Siberians when she caught sight of something in the path directly ahead of them. What in the world is that, she asked herself as she saw Bobby's ears prick and felt the team's pace increase.
She gripped the bar of the gig as she felt it jolt forward. With round eyes she recognized the source of her Siberians new-found enthusiasm. She realized that as they had rounded the last right turn towards home, her city Siberians had encountered the farm cat lazily sunning himself in the middle of the hard frozen grassy lane.
"On by, on by," Shelley screeched, but it was too late. The poor cat with his hair standing on end sprang straight up into the air. Shattering the post dawn stillness with yowls of protest, the frightened kitty bolted at the sight of the 4 ravenous "wolves" bearing down on him who merrily chased this prey in hot pursuit.
"Haw, haw," Shelley shreiked to her Siberians as they pursued the unfortunate feline all over the farm. "Gee, gee," Shelley implored but her team had conveniently forgotten their training. "Whoa, whoa," she beseeched them and slammed on the brake. However, the 3-wheeled gig continued to skid over the ice-lined trail.
She was running out of ideas when her mentor caught up with them to help her restrain her out-of-control team before any damage had been done.
"Oh my goodness," Shelley gratefully said to her friend who grabbed Bobby. "I guess they need more work." She knew that if she was going to continue to run dogs with her friend that such disobedient behavior must cease and firmly corrected Bobby for leading the team astray.
True to his typical sweet Siberian nature, Bobby was sensitive to the correction and moped the rest of the afternoon in the crate on the ride home. However, Shelley smugly felt from his reaction to this scolding that he would remember the consequences of his misdeed and would certainly be reliable for future runs to come.
In a few days, Shelley and her team were harnessed and excited in anticipation of their run around the farm. Shelley had rehearsed and rehearsed with Bobby and truly felt that the farm cat could cause no more problems. Instructing Bobby to hold the gang-line taut and to line-out, she happily fastened her dogs harnesses. The dogs yapped in their excitement.
"Hike, hike," Shelley shouted to Bobby as they embarked on their morning run. Shelley's mentor waved them a goodbye as they dashed down the lane. The early dawn sky mirrored a glacier blue as the husky team soared across the icy fields. Shelley felt as one with her team as Bobby skillfully navigated their route.
"Let's go, let's go," she urged Bobby as they glided across the farm. Her team was close to completing a flawless run.
"Gee, gee," Shelley commanded to Bobby as they rounded the last turn to home. The team executed the turn only to experience "deja vu" as they encountered the farm cat once again frozen in fright in the middle of the lane.
"On by, on by," Shelley screamed and felt waves of relief as Bobby led the team down the lane past the cat and towards home without batting an eye. Thus, Shelley was all smiles as they came to end of the lane where her van was parked and her mentor was waiting.
"Whoa, whoa," she exclaimed proudly as her team completed their run but Bobby would not stop. The recalcitrant Siberian remembered only too well what happened last time he encountered the farm cat and saw the open sliding door of the van with his crate inside.
Not wanting to be scolded again, Bobby led the team to the open van and leaped to the confines of his comforting crate inside.
"Whoa, whoa," Shelley screeched. Bobby, in harness, jumped in his crate followed by his sister. "Whoa, whoa," Shelley reinforced her command but his mother soon followed. Shelley hit the brake as the remaining Siberian endeavored to join her three associates stuffed in one crate but only wound up smushed along its side.
The 3-wheeled gig coasted to a stop and gently bumped into the van as Shelley tried to disentangle herself and her dogs from the mess inside. Three Siberians complete with ganglines and harnesses whirled around ensnarled inside one crate, and the last dived to nip at any muzzle or paw that ventured outside.
Much later, Shelley and her friend wheeled the gig back into the shed at the farm. The winter sun blazed high in the windless sky and the dogs snoozed peacefully, this time each curled up in his or her own crate.
"Should we dare try this again?," Shelley asked her mentor as she closed the shed door. Her friend just smiled and encouraged Shelley. "Absolutley. This was a good experience for them. They're really doing just great. Before long we'll be able to race together past any other animal without worry and enjoy sharing with our dogs the thing that they do best. After all, they're Siberians!"