The Face of Fats

Back in 1994, Aliy was living in Bettles, Alaska and beginning to acquire a small group of Alaskan Huskies. While working for US Fish and Wildlife, she had the opportunity to visit the village of Allakaket and meet well respected breeder/racer Steven Bergman. During a tour of his kennel, a sturdy, friendly pup, with a white face and bright blue eyes, piqued her interest. Within the next few months Aliy struck a deal with Steven and Fats, the pup, came home to live with her. He was to become one of the Founding Fathers of SP Kennel. And today, 20 years later, we see glimpses of Fats whenever we look in the dog yard.

Fats was tough, calm and strong, with a race weight of about 60 pounds. “Fats was always a gentleman!” says Aliy. He took each step with Aliy during her early racing days and was a crucial part of her Yukon Quest Championship team in 2000. Fats was the main kennel stud from 1998 to 2001. He fathered quite a few litters and there was always one pup per litter with a white face and bright blue eyes. Fat’s daughter, Mo (pictured below), is Kaz’s pet and a healthy 13-year-old as I write this post.

Fat’s pup, AJ, was dark in color with brown eyes. He was Aliy’s main lead dog in the early 2000’s and the main kennel stud from 2002 to 2005. AJ had only a few pups that resembled Fats. One of them was Oddball, pictured below. Though Oddball eerily resembled his grandfather, he was much lighter in stature, racing at about 48 pounds. Oddball raced on Aliy’s and Allen’s teams between 2005 and 2010. He was the main kennel stud during 2007 and 2008.

  L to R: Fats - "Grand Daddy" to them all; Mo - a Fats Pup; Oddball.

  L to R: Olivia; Junior; Chena.

Oddball fathered 16 pups, 4 of which resembled him and his grandfather, Fats. Those pups are Olivia, Hummer, Honda and Scruggs. All with white faces and bright blue eyes!

As many of you longtime SP followers know, Olivia was the main breeding female in 2012 and 2013. She had 4 pups for SP Kennel in 2012 and 11 in 2013. Of those 15 pups, 7 display the white faces and bright blue eyes which are traceable to their great-great-grandfather, Fats. Olivia and her pups, Junior and Chena, are pictured above.

Chena is one of the eleven pups in the Fire Litter. I attached the Fire Litter Pedigree Chart (below), along with the photos of Fat’s descendants, for a big dose of SP Kennel history. Hope you enjoy it! - Kennel Mom

THE FIRE LITTER PEDIGREE