February 07, 2026 - Phoenix rebirth applied

Happy Saturday morning!!

Oh man, I am feeling good today.

New toys coming from Nonstop Dogwear and North American Canicross!

Great snow conditions today for both Canicross and skijoring.

I am taking time to go with a dear friend and assist her with one of her dogs. A very sweet and lovely male greyhound/husky named Bruno.

Bruno has had it rough.

And I do mean rough. He was a sled dog up in northern Canada with little to no shelter and less kindness. Once he took ill with an eye infection, veterinary services are essentially nonexistent there. Essentially his life had come to an end. However, life and caring people had other plans for Bruno.

A local woman reached out to my friend to see if she could help.

She said she could and would. Then she did.

Bruno came to Newfoundland and was broken right to the soul. Terrified, unwell. Just a poor mess.

Proper veterinary care, a new home with three other dogs including his long lost littermate sister (separated for 6 years) and a cat, the removal of one eye and only about 15% vision remaining in his one eye….boy is a fighter.

We weren’t sure he even wanted to live when he arrived.

But not anymore. Last weekend he had his very first solo skijoring adventure with his owner. It was slow and meandering and damned perfect.

For his mealtimes he would eat some quickly and then run away. We would have to call him back and hold the bowl for him, sometimes even scooping the food up in our hands to feed him.

It was months before he would even willingly come into the house. We would have to go retrieve him from the backyard. Even longer before he ever got up on the furniture and make no mistake he is absolutely allowed on all furniture.

Last week? Well last week made me incredibly happy. I have a special affinity with Bruno due to us both being blind in one eye!

So he holds a special place in my heart.

But anyway, last week he discovers that he is allowed on the couch with everyone else! And now lives for it!

But it doesn’t end there…the next morning he discovers this thing called ‘breakfast in bed’ and now enjoys his meals ON THE COUCH.

He is still very selective over the people he permits around him. We use a super redundant system in his harnesses. In case he manages to slip, a harness failure etc. this is not a dog who would be an easy one to catch. Afraid. Fearful. Mostly blind.

But we are going skijoring again and he will be leading our front of the skier!

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Here at OutsidersNL on Skool and MuckypupsNL on Facebook we use activities such as Canicross (predominantly), skijoring and bikejoring as a form of therapy and healing for dogs who have been through events leaving a mark and often making life a challenge for them at times.

For human beings, there is a correlation between intense physical activity and past trauma.

This was never our plan.

I simply started running as a form of dealing with my own stresses. It was a client dog that came to me after having been through a house fire and was traumatized daily. His owner was searching for a different method of healing for him instead of relying on anxiety medication. She is a nurse and understand the long term affects of medication and was looking for a less impactful or, pardon me a more beneficial option.

She asked me straight out if Canicross would be of a benefit to him. At the time, I had not considered utilizing the activity in that way. I responded truthfully - that I did not know but I would be willing to try.

That was two years ago and he has been anxiety medication free and trauma free ever since. He was a complete and thorough success and still runs with me today.

After him came a Groendael who had a very rough start to his young life, he’s come a long long way as well and is a wonderful competitive dog these days. He too still runs with me; after two years.

And many more.

This year, as I put together my team for the Iron Paws Canicross race, it is formed completely of dogs from my clients who came to our program for help in overcoming trauma.

Enjoy these three videos of Bruno & Goldie!

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