Forward

We really did not plan to get a dog on August 13, 2009. Or any other day of August, or of 2009.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE animals, I always have. But, with busy lives, travel, etc., I asked most of the questions couples waiting to have kids do. Is this the right time? I’m starting a new job. Will I have time to care for another soul? Do we have enough money? We live in the middle of nowhere. What will I do if something that depends solely on me gets sick/hurt?  But, like children, there is really no perfect time to get a dog. You just do, and hang on for the ride.

Before we get into this debacle, let me give you a little background info. about my husband (Ryan) and me. I am a North Dakota farm girl; he is a Canadian hockey player who grew up in Manitoba. We met while attending Minot State University and were married in 2007. After college, he joined the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). It is basically a national police force and like the army, we are subject to transfers anywhere in Canada. Luckily, Manitoba is not really known as the envy of the country and so far, we have had no trouble staying here. I started my Canadian adventure in a neat little town in southern Manitoba. Soon, it was time for a transfer and for us to move on. We decided to venture into the wild Canadian north and experience all it has to offer. So, to Norway House we went. It is a remote northern Cree reserve in Manitoba. About 8 hours by road and just over 1 hour by air from the province’s capital, Winnipeg, it is not exactly on the way to anywhere. The community is basically a series of islands connected by bridge on the water system between Lake Winnipeg and the Hudson Bay. To get here, you need to take a ferry across a river that turns into an ice road in the winter. Life here is not for the faint of heart and the locals will verify this fact. A common problem of any reservation or northern/remote community is stray dogs, a.k.a. rez dogs. They wander about, soliciting scraps of food, stealing garbage and packing up in winter when times are especially tough. If they make it past the rough first year, they are truly rez dog tough. It is survival of the fittest, and the unforgiving north country takes no prisoners. It is absolutely heartbreaking.

RCMP Point in Norway House, Manitoba.. It is on Fort Island, one of the few islands that make up the community. Sadly, it is not a tropical one.

A couple of the countless stray, hungry dogs that roam Norway House

One of the two stray horses that you may see grazing