Watson is a Chinook and he's relatively rare. His owner Tara Breitenbucher said, "He's one of only 800 in existence. Chinook's are a rare breed of sled dog."

The Chinook is a unique breed of dog that was literally created by one man: Arthur Treadwell Walden. According to the Wikipedia entry, "The breed derives principally from one male ancestor born in 1917, named “Chinook,” who was Walden’s lead dog and stud. "Chinook" derived from a crossbreeding of husky stock from the Peary North Pole expedition with a large, tawny Mastiff-like male. Photos of “Chinook” show a drop-eared dog with a broad Mastiff head and muzzle. Walden’s leader was bred to Belgian Sheepdogs, German Shepherd Dogs, Canadian Eskimo Dogs and perhaps other breeds; the progeny were bred back to him to set the desired type and was apparently a strong reproducer of his own traits. Arthur Walden was an experienced dog driver with years of experience in the Yukon; he was lead driver and trainer on the 1929 Byrd antarctic expedition. He is credited with bringing sleddog sport to New England and with founding the New England Sled Dog Club in 1924. The 12-year-old “Chinook” was lost on the Byrd expedition."

He is three years old and Breitenbucher said she got him from a breeder named Carie Taylor in Tacoma. "There are three breeders here locally but most of them are in New England."

"They are aloof with strangers and don't demand a lot of attention which I really appreciate and they are great active partners so we go hiking and running together. But he's also a great couch potato so he has a great on/off switch. They don't shed a lot, which is nice. They are great with other dogs and really good with children."

As a sled dog in Seattle he doesn't get a chance to see much snow but he loves it. In fact he loves anything even close to it. "Even if it's frosty in the grass," she explained, "and it's just a little bit like snow he goes berserk. Even the astro turf of soccer fields. I think it mimics the texture of snow and he will go berserk on that too. He will run around in circles and bark and play. In keeping with his love of snow and being a highly active dog they get outside a lot in the winter. "We've gone sledding a couple of times and we go "BikeJoring" and urban mushing so he pulls me on a bike or on a scooter."

Watson gets a high protein dry dog food and some raw food too including bones and turkey necks. For treats he gets string cheese but it's rare.

Obedience and agility training are in his background and he's also taken the training to do urban mushing through Canine Behavorial Center in Bothell.

Somewhere in his breeding or training or just because he's clever he learned to get out of any enclosure. "He's an amazing escape artist," Brietenbucher said, "He's gone through four crates now and we finally found a crate that he can't escape from but that's only because I put about five of those metal eye hooks all around it in addition to locking the crate because he will escape any crate that is devised. The last one I bought was advertised as escape proof. We can't figure out how he does it but I think he does it with his tongue. He undoes the latch through the holes in the crate so I had to buy a crate with little tiny holes now."

When he escapes he doesn't try to run away but he will "chew things up in the house if I'm not careful or if he hasn't gotten enough exercise."

Watson is also a big talker. "He talks a lot," she said, "Anytime we are walking or running we always stop at a corner to look for cars and every time he will do a whole diatribe about how he doesn't want to be stopping right then. It's kind of a whiny talking growly kind of mixture."

How to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week:
Want to nominate your pet for Pet of the Week? Stop by the VCA West Seattle Animal Hospital at 5261 California Ave. S.W. and just ask for a form. A nomination is not a guarantee of appearance and your name and photo may appear in our newspaper and online.

Photos may or may not be used and our "Pet Reporter" may be in touch with you to arrange to take a photo. Pets nominated will be chosen on the basis of uniqueness of the pet and the quality of the story and information submitted.