Nigel

The beginning
I found Nigel behind bars at the Gastineau Humane Society in late September 1997 as a cheerful nine month old puppy. Other than being male (I'd assumed I'd adopt a female dog) and named Kramer he was just what I was looking for. All the other dogs barked or leaped against the chain link doors when I walked by, but this dog sat just on the other side and looked up at me. I think it was the ears that won me over--one half up and the other flopping down. The next weekend I took my potential dog on a leashed walk up Dan Moller to the overlook shelter. Along the way he was friendly to people and dogs and seemed eager to snuggle when we sat down in the shelter. He even seemed polite about the cat, hiding behind my legs when I introduced him to Oscar back home.

Being nine months old already, I was curious about his background. Apparently he'd been adopted the weekend before I met him so his records had been discarded; one employee thought he'd been a stray. The family that adopted him returned him after a few days claiming that he didn't get along with the "man of the house" which, given Nigel's unfailing and indiscrimate affection, seems a poor cover for other family issues. In any event, their loss was my gain. I was warned by the humane society of two other possible problems--he was apparently not house broken and he chewed his collars so vehemently that they kept him collarless. Despite these warnings, and with great pride, I officially adopted Nigel on October 6. He came with a license, a bag of dog food, a box of biscuits, and a toy.

After a few days struggling with names, Kramer became Nigel. The first afternoon of his adoption I took him for a romp on Sandy Beach where I'd often fantasized about walking my dog. Afterwards I brought him to my parents where he ran around enthusiastically before hiding behind the couch and peeing on the carpet. That was Nigel's only real accident. His original owners must have house trained him and he also took to other basic training remarkably fast (or so it seemed to me) and was so cheerful toward every human that I think he must have had a pleasant enough life before being impounded--there was certainly no evidence of abuse or neglect. He never attempted to bite his collar, which he wore full time until he was about ten.

The early years
Nigel soon began to frequent Sandy Beach where he became part of a small pack of close friends and a wider pack of acquaintances. Those were the early years of our life together--meeting up with the pack at 6:00 am on weekdays (no matter the weather) and a little later on weekends, mixing it up with morning hikes up Dan Moller and Mt. Jumbo on the weekdays, Outer Point and longer hikes on days off. At the beach he met his best friend shortly after his adoption, a male pit bull/Labrador retriever mix named Cavall, as well as a small pack of very close friends and play buddies (Nigel was a well-known player on the Beach for years). The other members of that original pack have all passed away (Bridget, Cocoa, Annie, Eli, Olie, and others) and we haven't frequented the beach in recent years enough to rebuild it. For a few years his other best friend was Fred, a husky/Australian shepherd mix from Hoonah. Fred and Nigel together were a terror to their owners and to neighborhood dogs, turning into foot loose gang members when they met up. They hiked the Chilkoot Trail together; unfortunately, Fred now lives in Wrangell. You can always tell Nigel's friends by his willingness to let them near his toys and food. Nigel's "cousin" Rosie (my parent's dog) is a Chesapeake retriever and the only dog that Nigel spends considerable one-on-one time with these days. He and Cavall remain enamoured of each other, though their visits are less frequent that the dogs or their people would like.

Adventure buddy
When Nigel was about ten I started taking him on the boat to Snettisham and up the Taku, something I hadn't done often before due to his fear of boating/flying and the fact that my ex was at home to watch him when I went adventuring on my own. I was pretty worried about it, but Nigel was amazing and proved himself immensely adaptable, much to my delight. Since the divorce, he and I have grown much closer and I think we rely on each other and trust each other in ways we never did before. (I know it sounds ridiculously trite, but it's true.) He's a bit of a mama's boy. He's also my number one adventure buddy and I'm loathe to leave him behind when I head out. For several months he even came to work with me on Fridays when I was downtown in the Community Building, staying in my doorless office when I ran errands or went to the bathroom down the hall. He became a bit of a mascott and people would drop by on Fridays to feed him biscuits, but dogs aren't welcome in my current office. As Nigel ages his energy wanes, which in some ways is just as well, as mine has too. He's still up most things, but I don't run with him for more than a couple of miles anymore and he turns up gimpy more often than he used to.

This brief narrative doesn't even approach adequately representing it, but Nigel is pretty much the best dog in the world, and most of my friends agree--he's even won over several people who are decidedly not dog fans. He adores everyone, is incredibly responsive to his mom, behaves extremely well, and is generally completely wonderful. His favorite place (that I can tell) is up the Taku--he perks up and romps around there like nowhere else and can smell it miles before we reach the cabin. He loves Snettisham, too, and is a model companion dog while I work down there, sitting in fresh piles of dirt while I build porches, alerting me to bears, and keeping me company on all my solo (well, human-less) trips (even if he does relish in bear poop rolls now and again). Nigel is also a wilderness badass. He's chased and nipped the tail of a wild wolf (not Romeo), chased many brown bears and black bears, and even treed a wolverine. Romeo (the black wolf who winters at the Mendenhall Glacier) tried to entice him to play once; Nigel tolerated him but wasn't very interested. I don't know what I'd do without him. Below are some of my favorite photos.

Snettisham Nigel:
Boat dog, 2008	At the homestead, 2008	Hermit Thrush Cabin porch construction, 2007
In the lodge, 2007	Enjoying the spring sunshine, 2009	Stranded at the homestead, 2009
Adventure dog, 2009 (photo by Kellee Purdy)	Ready for the boat ride home, 2009	Nigel Boat Dog, 2009
Taku Nigel:
Exploring the meadow, 2008	Canoeing behind the cabin, 2008	Canoe dog, 2007
Fall, 2007	On a fishing trip, 2009	Eating a mouse, 2009
Smelling the Taku on the way up, 2009	Summer in the meadows, 2009	May, 2007
Hiking buddy Nigel:
Sheep Creek, 2008	Mendenhall Lake, 2008	Eagle Glacier Trail, 2008
Random adorable photos:
Christmas 2008	Christmas 2007	10th Anniversary, 2007
Nigel's pack:
Nigel and Cavall, 2007	Nigel and Cavall at Sandy Beach, c. 1999	Nigel's 10th anniverary party (enjoying Frosty Paws): Emmy Lou, Cavall, Nigel, Rosie, and Dani
Nigel, Cavall, Emmy Lou, and Dani at Sandy Beach, 2007	Fred's anniverary party: Cocoa, Bridget, Fred, Cavall, Nigel, Eli, ?, Rosie, c. 2001
Meeting Romeo, 2009	Romeo's solicitation to play, 2009