Page 444 - The History of the Royal Army Veterinary Corps 1962–2021

THE HISTORY OF THE ROYAL ARMY VETERINARY CORPS 1962 – 2021
Private Lauren Cheetham, of 104 MWD Sp Unit, took the reader on her sled journey in the 2010 spring/autumn issue of Chiron Calling:
On Saturday, 13th February 2010 six members of 104 Military Working Dog Support Unit left Heathrow airport bound for Calgary, Canada to embark on an eagerly anticipated dog sledding exercise. The primary aim of the Exercise was to learn more about and gain personal experience in working dog husbandry in freezing Arctic conditions. This would also benefit the rest of the Unit when the team returned and presented their experiences.
On arrival in Calgary the team, led by Captain Jo Lowe RAVC, headed for Trails End Camp (TEC), a transit camp run by BATUS (British Army Training Unit Suffield) specifically designed to host adventure training. First things first, the group was issued a mountain of kit from the well-sup- plied store at TEC and preparations got underway for the coming expedition.
On Tuesday, after arrival, the team, driven by LCpl Martin Thomson, headed to the ‘Mad Dogs and Englishmen’ kennels to meet the sledding guides and the dogs they would be working with on the Exercise. The dogs used by Mad Dogs and Englishmen varied in breeds, from Pointers and Greyhounds to the more traditional Alaskan and Siberian huskies. Some of the dogs were bred in the kennels, some brought from outside agencies and a few rescued from dog pounds and an otherwise uncertain future. After touring the kennels and selecting the dog teams, we set off on a three-and-a-half-hour drive to a mountainous area called Cataract Creek. The dogs travelled by trailer with individual compartments housing each dog. With each sled team consisting of eight dogs and a reserve, looking after the four sledding teams ensured there was plenty to keep the group busy.
The first day’s sledding began the next morning and was a steep learning curve for all, especially coming to terms with the steering and braking on the sleds, particularly at the speed the dogs could accumulate on the downhill sections! It was particularly important for LCpls Martin Thomson and Will Brown and Ptes Andy Duff and Jo Cant, to learn quickly as they were manning their sleds without the assistance of a guide! With a mix of flat snowy areas, icy stream crossings and mountain climbs to contend with, the sledding experience definitely wasn’t for the faint hearted. We clocked up 34km on the first day on the trails with the dogs finishing as keen to run as the moment they left. The same could not be said of the ‘mushers’
who, after seeing to their dogs, spent the rest of the evening nursing sore thighs from pushing sleds up the hills.
The second and third day’s sledding built on the first – incorporating more up-hill work, testing both dogs and handlers. Although pushing the sleds uphill in the ‘snow boots’ – sometimes through deep snow – took a lot of effort, the thrill of the downhill sections more than compensated for it. The group passed through areas of amazing scenery and experienced conditions ranging from dazzling sunshine to mild blizzards. Due to the high presence of cougars in the area that season (finding cat tracks in the fresh snow was quite worrying!) the dogs had to be accommodated in the trailer each night. This meant that the trails used were large loops around the mountainous countryside back to a base location. However, this had the bonus of enabling the team to utilise a makeshift cooker in a log cabin to cook up some moose steak (kindly provided by one of the guides) after a cold day’s sledding!
Throughout the expedition the team learnt a lot about caring for dogs in an Arctic climate. As they can burn up to 13000 calories per day in husky sled races, the dogs used on each team have been specially trained and are maintained on specific endurance foods. As dogs are more reluctant to drink in cold climates, we learnt about different ways to encourage them to take on water, including adding it to their food and giving them ‘baited’ water. I am sure that all the team would agree that the dog sledding experience was a ‘once in a lifetime’ opportunity.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank 104 Log Bde, CMWDSU PRI and RAVC Welfare and Benevolent Fund for the financial assistance they gave to us, in order to make the trip possible in the first place. We are also grateful to TEC, BATUS for the logistical support they provided, Russell Donald of Mad Dogs and Englishmen for making the trip so special and, of course, the sled dogs for all their hard work!4
Moving on
On 26th March 2010 104 MWD Support Unit was subsumed into 1st Military Working Dog Regiment (RAVC) and became 104 MWD Sqn, remaining at North Luffenham.
[Much more is written about the Unit’s deployment on Op HERRICK and Op TELIC in the chapters on the RAVC in Afghanistan and Iraq].
4 Chiron Calling Spring/Autumn 2010.
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