ABOUT SUOMI HILLS KENNEL
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Suomi Hills Kennel was founded in 1993 by Joel Kersting. He was given a few dogs and a sled and immediately fell in love with the mushing experience. Joel raises and trains almost all of Suomi Hills Kennel's dogs. All of the dogs are friendly and sociable. Socialization of the puppies begins when they are only a few days old. Training to pull begins when the puppies are about 4 months old; however, the dogs usually don't join the working team until they are at least one year old.
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In order to meet other mushers and share the joy of sled dogs, Joel started going to races in 1994. A list of races entered by Suomi Hills Kennel teams can be seen here.
Most often the musher was Joel; however, Stephanie Kessler, Mike Leedahl, Jessica Leonard, and Rachel Leonard have also raced Suomi Hills Kennel Dogs.
Before long people started asking if we could give sled dog rides. Always excited to share the sled dog experience we often said, "yes". Eventually different organizations asked Joel if he could come talk about sled dogs. Again he often accommodated.
To view a list of organizations that have received rides or presentations click here.
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The summer of 2004 Joel and the dogs accepted a job with Alaska Icefield Expeditions in Skagway, Alaska. AIE gives sled dog tours on the Denver Glacier for guests from the cruise ships that dock in Skagway. View some of the photo from Alaska below.
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