Now, anyone who knows me at all already knows the story couldn't possibly end that easily! There has to be some kind of twist or stupid event included in this post. Enter Arviat!
I was out for a little walk one Sunday in Arviat and I stopped to talk with a man I had met a few days earlier. As we were talking I noticed a small pup curled up under his front steps. I asked if it was his dog and he told me that he was just about to call the bylaw office to have him picked up and shot. Unfortunately strays are such a big problem in the north, and shelters all but non existent, that shooting them is the only way to keep the stray population in check. I bent over and picked up the shivering little fluff ball . I was immediately shocked t the size of him. He was tiny, and couldn't have been much more than about 5 weeks old at the time. I put him in my pocket to warm him up a little and started back to the hotel.
The hotel manager wasn't too excited about having a pup stay in my room, but with the help of a few of the other guests we managed to sway her and he stayed the night. One of the guests that helped out more than I ever could have asked for was Peggy. She worked for Canada Post and she was my primary puppysitter during the day while I was working. Arviat! stayed in the back room at the post office while I was working. This arrangement sounded like it was going to work out great... then I got a call Monday afternoon that I was being moved to Rankin Inlet for the duration of my contract. Now that threw a wrench into the works!! I had less than 24 hours to figure out what I was going to do.
Smuggling him onto the plane turned out the be the winning idea. I never said it was a great idea, just the one that I happened to choose. Arviat! was carried onto the plane in a knapsack, and as soon as the flight leveled off I moved him back into my coat pocket. The flight attendant caught me with him sticking his nose out of my coat about half way to Rankin, but she didn't have any problem with him being there, but she did request that I keep things quiet.
The time spent in Rankin Inlet was relatively uneventful.. except for that first night which was a huge adventure. It was -35C outside, windy as hell, and there was no heat at all in the apartment! Arviat! and I spent the whole night under 3 huge blankets as well as my parka.
Due to airline restrictions in place when I was due to leave for home I had to leave Arviat! in Rankin with friends. It was almost a month later when I finally had him flown down, but I had to go to Ottawa to get him.. there were no flights into Toronto. At least he's here now and growing like a bad weed! And I thought I was going to end up with a nice little sled dog!!
