Helen Corlew with her lead dog, Flint - North Dakota, USA 
SLED DOG’S ACTIONS SAVE OWNER’S LIFE
Husky mix Flint earned an honorable mention honor in the 2016 AKC Awards for Canine Excellence (ACE) awards for his heroic actions in leading his team home after his owner was badly injured on the trail.
Nearly 10 years ago, dog sledding enthusiast Helen Corlew started the difficult search for a new lead dog.
The former treasured lead of her team, an Alaskan Malamute, passed away from lymphoma, and Corlew knew it would take a very special dog to fill his role.
“Lead dogs have to be intelligent, confident, and willing to follow commands but also able to think and solve problems and one that I trust and it trusts me,” Helen said. “ I look for the things I mentioned but also I look for a dog that is very in tuned to me, wanting to please me but not clingy.”
The North Dakota resident heard about a litter of husky mixes in Alaska that were bred to run traplines and could have all the elements she desired. It was good timing as her husband was on sabbatical in Alaska, and she asked him to take a look at the pups. Before she knew it, her husband was on the way home with a 9-week-old fuzzy recruit.
“Flint’s dam looked very much like a Siberian husky, but his sire was a trapline Alaskan husky so a mix of Siberian husky, possibly malamute and whatever else people that run traplines have available to create the type of freight dog they need: tough feet, nice double coat to tolerate the cold and wind, and long legs to be able to break trail.”
Corlew was not disappointed in her high expectations for the pup. Flint proved to be smart and responsive and went into training with the goal of being lead.
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