Windsor dog mushers ready for winter

Andrew Strahl with his dogs Flurry (left) and Shiloh (right) in their home in Windsor, Thursday, Nov 6, 2014. (Photo by Kameron Chausse.)

 

By Kameron Chausse

 

The sport of urban dog mushing is growing in Windsor, Ontario, driven forward by the passionate members of the Essex County Urban Mushing Association.

The Essex County Urban Mushing Association is a group of dog owners who have taken up the sport of urban mushing in Essex County. Similar to dog sledding, urban mushing is a year-round sport in which the mushers are pulled along on trails by their dogs on scooters or bikes, rather than sleds.

Urban mushing has been in Windsor-Essex County 2009. ECUMA founder and musher Andrew Strahl said he discovered the sport while researching ways to help exercise his dog Shiloh.

“My dogs love it,” said Strahl. “We usually run about 10 kilometers a couple of times a week. They were born to run.”

Strahl said he got the idea to try urban mushing after seeing a video on YouTube. He said he decided to change from bicycle to scooter after rescuing his second dog, Flurry.

“Pulling a scooter is easier than pulling a leash, because the person on the scooter is helping the dog.” Strahl said.

Strahl encountered other dog owners who took interest in mushing, eventually founding ECUMA as a resource for others who wish to get into the sport. Over the past four years, the Facebook group has grown to over 180 members through word of mouth, with dozens of mushers partaking every week, with a wide variety of breeds making appearances.

“We have a few huskies, but we get everything else. Literally everything else.” Strahl said. They typically run together two or three times per week on the Ganatchio and Chrysler Greenway trails.

Dawn Glover, a musher with ECUMA, says the exercise is necessary for her dogs, Finn, a lab mix, and Fergie, a 2-year-old sled dog.

“If they didn’t get exercise from running, they would destroy my house,” Glover said about her dogs. “They have to be doing something at all times, and have to get a lot of exercise. It settles them down.”

Strahl said ECUMA is open to new members through their website and Facebook page. He expects the group to continue to grow through the new year.

“It’s for the dogs,” said Strahl. “I don’t do this for my love for the sport, I do it because the dogs love it.”