Thanatos, or Thani for short, was born out of Salmon and Griffin on September 8th 2007 along with his brothers Boreas, Hermes, Chronos and his sister Calypso.

When they were all very young we were still unsure on what their permanent names would be but we couldn't help nicknaming Thani 'Mr. Beefy' since he was such a big boy. From a very early age I could tell he was going to be a clone of his father, loving, gentle and unique. The only lingering question was how he would work in harness but at six months I started to get a good feeling how that would turn out.

Like his siblings Thani was running loose with the team as soon as he could keep up. When he grew tired he would ride in the basket, often sharing the space with brothers and sisters, but his mind always wanted to be on the trail running and having fun.

When I hooked him into the team for the first time he had a bit of trouble learning the pace but caught on quickly. As soon as he learned how to pull and run with us there was no turning back! This boy LOVED to work and once he learned how to lean all his weight into his harness I could feel a change ripple through the entire team.

When paired up with his brother Boreas, who is about the same height and weight, we had a completely new level of performance I had never felt before. I started having doubts at how much I would be able to control these guys. It was like adding four more dogs to the team and once the hook, or snub line, was pulled it was extremely important to have a tight grip or they would yank the handle bow right out of my hands!

I started training Thani on his start and stop commands, with a heavy emphasis on the stopping part! He was ready to go at a moments notice but I knew somewhere deep down his father's mellow genes existed and it wouldn't take long to teach him to calm down until we were ready to go. I wasn't sure if he would stop the team for me as Griffin had but he was still young and we had lots of time to watch him develop into the adult he was going to be.

By the next season Thani was slowly starting to mature and relax into his job of being a part time house dog and full time member of our team. He would often lay down in the trail, even at hook up, and wait for all the dogs to be harnesses before getting excited.

That year our main focus was on making sure he and his siblings had fun, brushed up on their pulling skills and experienced new things like breaking trail, snacking and taking rest breaks on our longer runs. In all of this Thani excelled and matured far faster than I believed was possible. He became very quick on his commands and I quickly learned to be very careful when telling him what to do. If he heard the hook being pulled or if I said 'ok' or 'hike' (meaning go) in the quietest tone, he would respond in an instant. This boy definitely kept me on my toes!

Training for leadership was still a far off plan but it was something that lingered in my mind from time to time. Since Salmon had been a leader at some point in her life, and Griffin had shown a slight desire to be up front, I decided to eventually give the pups a try. To my surprise Thani loved being in front and while he towered over tiny Juno he still listened to her very well and lined out with very little training. It didn't matter if we were running a six or twelve dog team Thani was very comfortable to call the shots and learn his commands at his very young age.

Since he was the largest I would often position him closer to the sled in wheel where his bulk would keep our heavily loaded sled moving easily. It seemed a shame to use him so far back in the team and waste his natural leader abilities but Thani didn't seem to mind. When we are in a pinch I can put him right up front and he will lead us through anything easily. As long as hes working hes happy to be anywhere in the team.

James and I have nicknamed Thani and Boreas the 'Buffalo Brothers' due to their large size (80lbs) and height (29" at the shoulder). Running these boys together reminds me of a buffalo stampede. No matter if the trail is deep, our sled heavy or the cold intense these boys will run through anything loving every minute of it. All I have to do is hang on!

And since these boys are now full time members of our team Ive almost totally lost my job as trail breaker. I used to enjoy the days of strapping on my snowshoes, walking out ahead of the team and forging a path for us to follow. But those days are long gone now... if these boys know which direction we are headed they wont stop until we get to our destination!

Ive got my eye on both of these brothers for future breeding potential. Its going to be tough to choose between the two since both carry amazing traits. Not only are they powerful but they also pack some serious speed. The maximum Ive clocked these boys is just over 20mph!

That's not too shabby for freighting huskies!