Giveaway: Aliy Zirkle “dog fan.”

For years – long before I had the chance to interview her – I’d hoped that Aliy Zirkle and her team would win the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She always struck me as a strong-willed, big-hearted woman who was passionate about dogs and the Alaska wilderness.

Zirkle lives in Two Rivers, Alaska, where sled dogs outnumber human beings four to one. She’s done either the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race (1,000 miles) or the Iditarod (1,049 miles) every year since 1998. She’s never had to scratch, and won the Yukon Quest in 2000. Since then Zirkle, now 50, has focused on the Iditarod, and has come in second place three years in a row.

And after I got the chance to chat for a freelance piece*, I liked her even more. That’s because Zirkle is…frugal!

She and her husband, Allen Moore, are both savers, not spenders. Their bed is 20 years old and the couch is 12 years old. They don’t have high-tech electronics. If they earn less than expected in a given year, they put off nonessential purchases or upgrades rather than take on debt.

It’s all about their mushing buddies, whose care runs the couple $700 to $1,000 per year per dog on average. (They’ve got 40 of them, and they never sell dogs, even after they’ve stopped. Instead, they become retirees – and pets.)

The musher recently shocked Alaska sled-dog racing fans by announcing her impending retirement. The 2021 Iditarod – her 21st running – will be not just her last, but her swan song to mushing altogether.

Shucks.

One of my holiday gifts to my friend Linda B. this year was making her a “dog fan” – making a donation to Zirkle’s SP Kennel in Linda’s name. It’s one of those “what to get for the person who has everything?” questions, and “make her a dog fan**” was an obvious answer. Linda has loved both sprint and distance mushing since she moved to Alaska way back in the pipeline era.

Lately I’ve tried to make most of my giveaways ones that would #SupportTheAlaskaEconomy. And since the 2021 Iditarod – Zirkle’s last! – starts on Sunday, March 7, I’ve decided to give away a dog-fan membership.

Yes: One lucky winner will have his or her name published on Zirkle’s dog page, with all the honors and awards accorded thereto.

What kinds of honors and awards? So glad you asked.

 

• Random drawings take place during the season for SP Kennels items “with an Alaskan seasonal flair.”
• Your dog gets extra treats!
• Bonus drawings from the Fan Club take place during races and at season’s end.
• Every dog fan who joins before March 1 gets an SP Kennel “End of the Trail” postcard. That should have extra poignance, given that this is the end of Zirkle’s mushing career.

The winner of this giveaway gets to choose the dog. It could be a tough choice, because the bios accompanying each pooch are so entertaining.

To enter, do one or more of the following:

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Be sure to leave a separate comment for each entry (e.g., “Subscribed via e-mail” or “Follow you on Twitter”).

The deadline to enter this giveaway is 7 p.m. PST Tuesday, Feb. 23. If I haven’t heard back from the winner by 7 p.m. PST Wednesday, Feb. 24, I’ll pull another name.

Note: Due to the high cost of international shipping, this giveaway is limited to U.S. residents.

*Learn more at, “I’m a professional dog musher – here’s how I budget,” on the Policy Genius website.

**Her dog is Chipper, “quite the clever little punk.” This is Chipper’s bio.