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Introduction

My name is Sojo (that’s SO-jo, not SO-ho). For much of my life I was a sled dog on an Alaskan dog team and I had lots and lots of exciting adventures. This is my first book.

When you see a dog team in a movie or a book or maybe even in real life, you think it’s just a bunch of dogs pulling a sled. But there’s a lot more to it than that. There are lead dogs and swing dogs and wheel dogs and they all have important jobs. When I first saw a dog team, I didn’t think I was smart enough to do any of those jobs. In fact I didn’t even want to be a sled dog, but my human had other ideas. Turns out there’s one more position called a team dog and they work in the middle of the team and just pull. That’s where I worked. But even then I have to admit I was a reluctant sled dog.

Since team dogs don’t have many responsibilities, I usually had plenty of time to look around and watch the other dogs. I always knew what they were thinking because I have a dog-given ability to silently communicate with other dogs. One day while I was hanging around the dog lot daydreaming I got this terrific idea: I should write a book about my life. I’m going to take you behind the scenes. You’ll read about team meetings, petty spats, and mended friendships. You’ll learn about amazing acts of courage and discover who the real heroes were on our team.

All the stories in this book are true. Well, okay, I admit I took a few liberties here and there, but mostly they’re true.

—Sojo, team dog

Our Journey across the Arctic