Riley reflects on the Urban Mushers and his bond with Pence

Hey - Riley here!

I know, you’re probably thinking, “where’s Hannah? She’s usually the one writing most of the stories…”

Well, you’re stuck with me today 😉 

I wanted to do some reflecting, as it’s been four months since we started the Urban Mushers newsletter. Not sure how it’s already been that long, but here we are!

A lot has been happening in our lives these past four months, but the one constant has been writing you all a story every Monday and Thursday evening (sent out on Tuesdays and Fridays).

Since we’ve started writing stories for you twice a week, it’s made us think more intentionally about what we’re doing with the dogs on a more regular basis. Not going to lie, some weeks when we struggle to keep up with the dog’s exercise, knowing we need to write a newsletter about their training/latest happenings has helped keep us on task.

We’re busy - Riley owns a business and Hannah does like 30 different things all at once it seems like sometimes - so there are times we do fall behind with the dogs and the newsletter. We’re only human like everyone else. But we appreciate your patience if a newsletter gets sent out a couple hours later than normal!

But anyways… Moral of the story is that we’re so incredibly thankful for all the support from you all through these first four months of this awesome adventure! It’s been a blast for us, even on weeks where we’re buried with work and can barely come up with a topic to write about (which is seemingly harder and harder as the temperatures warm up and we can’t run the dogs as often, if at all).

While writing this, I was scrolling through all of the newsletters we’ve written, trying to pick out my favorite ones so far. I think I’ve narrowed it down to these four:

Okay so I might be a little bit biased towards Pence, but can you blame me? Ask me a year ago if I thought we’d have another sled dog and I would’ve said no way (even though I joked about wanting one often…). I didn’t think it would become a reality.

For a dog that we’d only briefly met, didn’t know how she’d do inside a house or how she’d get along with Boo, she has been such an incredible dog for us.

For me specifically, I’ve really come to love the bond her and I have. Hannah and Beth have always had a special bond with Boo, and I always felt a little left out (even though he’s opening up more and more nowadays).

But the bond Pence and I have is something special. Our nightly cuddles in bed where she literally lays her entire body on me is my favorite time of each day. I only wish we’d have gotten to know her years sooner.

So when selecting my four favorite stories so far, I think I gravitated towards stories that really show Pence’s and Boo’s personalities. Those are the stories that make them so special.

Everyone knows about what they’ve accomplished in the past and how they’re sled dogs. But I think letting you all read about their unique personalities and why they truly mean so much more to us is what makes sharing our stories twice a week so much fun.

What are your favorite stories so far?

You know mine, but now I want to know yours! Are you as in love with Pence as I am, or are you more of a Boo fan? Do you like the newsletters about our training better or ones sharing the funny stories about the dogs?

Let us know in the comments!

We truly value do value your feedback and questions. I know a lot of you have submitted some in the past already, so thank you for doing so! But as I mentioned, in the off-season, it’ll be harder for us to have specific topics when we aren’t able to run the dogs. So the more you can help us out by asking questions, or sharing thoughts (or maybe even a guest post or two??), the more we can make sure our newsletters are ones you’ll continue to enjoy every Tuesday and Friday.

Okay, I think that’s enough reflecting and getting sentimental for now.. I’ve met my quota for the next six months lol. Thanks for reading and reflecting with me. I hope you’ve enjoyed this and all of our newsletters as much as we’ve enjoyed it on our end.

Upcoming Urban Mushers + Mailer

It’s time for our first quarter Urban Mushers + postcard! We’ll be sending out our quarterly post card in the next week or two, so if you haven’t joined the Urban Mushers + yet, you still have a couple days before you miss out on the exclusive gift from us and the dogs!

Don’t want to miss the extra weekly video and quarterly mailing? Join the Urban Mushers + by clicking the button below!

Everything we receive from our Urban Mushers + members directly benefits the dogs and our mushing. The proceeds go towards dog food/medicine, gear for the dogs and safety gear for Hannah and I.

We greatly appreciate all the support from our loyal Urban Mushers + members.

If you aren’t in a position to join, don’t worry at all. We’re just glad you’re here and enjoy reading our stories. We hope they bring you joy!

Stay tuned for more great stories coming your way, including this Friday!