Today is technically the first day of Spring, but it’s still a little chilly outside, so it’s probably best to post this story before it gets any warmer out there. After all, this tale is set all the way up north not too far from the Klondike, featuring a team of sled dogs who go on a late-night adventure through the snowy, frozen Alaskan countryside. This is an anthropomorphic story, which means that, just like in Bambi, or Balto, the dogs (among other animals) in this story think and talk just as humans would.
I’ve always had a soft-spot for the anthropomorphic genre, probably because of my fondness and great interest in animals. This story, along with its companion, and one of my earliest-published short stories, “Far From the Cold”, are two of my favorites that I’ve written. I originally came up with a host of different short story ideas for this same group of sled dogs and their owner, along with a concept or two for full-length novels. I’ve promised myself that, at some point in my life, I’m going to return to these ideas and write up all the adventures that I’ve dreamed up for these hounds.
JEFFREY PAWLAK 