Mackenzie joined us as our second Malamute in 2007.  We had sold our small home in Town for a cottage in a village with more land just in time to pick him up.  We thought Kinley would like a companion even though it turns out he became the irritating little Brother who was so needy!  He has a huge love of working and needs to please. He will do anything for a cuddle and praise.  I only trained him as a show dog and for working so he can be an absolute enthusiastic, whirlwind of energy and do the wall of death of your house before you can catch him.  He's very loyal and makes you feel so loved with his affection.  He can be worked with dogs he hasn't met before and loves the ladies!  When I took him to weight pull competition for the first ever go, he pulled the weight required for a leg towards a title (WWPD) so I took him back 3 more times and he did exactly the same, and completed it.  An absolutely natural worker from his excellent working lines from America.  Any task you ask of him, he nails it. Back packing, British rally racing, bikejoring or agility, he gives it everything he has and would work until his feet bled.
His temperament is faultless and bomb proof in any situation.  He fears nothing and can be too crazy at times!  'Foot first, think later' has gotten us in to many problems on our back packing trips, I've had to pull him out of streams, rescue feet from wedged rocks and leads from wire fencing that looked like a good thing to do at the time with out any thought.  Regardless of his blonde-ness he makes an excellent companion in the snow on expedition trips. I trust him with my life to lead us to any where we wish, his 'on-by' around wildlife, other dog teams or even racing rabbits are perfectly executed.  Dogs have snapped at him on benches at dog shows and he never bats an eyelid, completely non-reactive to this aggression.  Bones can be taken off him and he's never guarded anything in his life.  He can be brushed from nose to tail and loves a good pampering! At 10 years old he is still as healthy as ever, and has only been to the vets for his passport visits and suspected kennel cough when he was 4.   Such an easy boy I would happily have 10 of him!  He became a dad in September 2017, producing 4 healthy pups.  The boy we kept (Seal and white) Kebne, is exactly the personality of Mackenzie as a baby dog.  I'm delighted he appears to be a mini Kenzie and so in tune with our training techniques.
Sad News....
Sadly out of the blue on the 8th of August 2018 Mackenzie collapsed in the garden after I came home from work, I checked his mucus membranes and he was white, within 15 minutes he was on a drip and oxygen at Barton Vets in North Lincolnshire.  After an X-ray it was discovered that he had a small bleed on his heart and was kept comfortable all night after an attempt to drain it.  The next morning I went to see him after he slept there with our Vet 'Victoria' sleeping with him all night. They aren't a 24 hour surgery however she offered to keep him there due to his condition.  He looked superb that morning and although still ill, we decided to transfer him to Paragon vets in Wakefield for more in depth scans. 
Here he saw a leading  cardiac specialist and was left in knowledgeable hands.  Throughout the day more X-rays and scans were taken as he stayed stable.  His heart had a bled in the heart cavity, not heart, but bad news kept coming in the more scans and treatment I requested.  After a CT Scan of his abdomen we discovered a mass on his spleen, small clusters on his liver and lots of nodules throughout both lungs.  These nodules that were assumed steaming from the spleen and had ruptured and causing bleeding on his lungs and extreme anemia. 
There was NO magic tablet, NO operation to have and NO amount of money could of changed the outcome. 
He deteriorated within a couple of hours in the afternoon and by 10.30pm on the 9th August I had NO choice but to let him go. He grabbed my arm ten minutes earlier almost asking me to let him go when I whispered a few sled commands in his ear, hoping he would respond and look like there was some fight left.  If Mackenzie couldn't work and do a job he did not want to be here. He's never been ill and he hated all this fuss over him. 
I can not seem to digest what has happened in this last week or so of this happening.  It doesn't seem to make sense.  He has always been full of energy and a whirl wind of fun and was up to the day before of finding him ill.  They haven't had barely any exercise and no runs due to the high temperatures of this Summer, only garden play and normal show/obedience attendance.  The whole pack are in a state of shock and appear to also be struggling at the new silence in the garden.  All I can do is distract them and hope we have some natural talent in the puppies.  We have no lead dog now and his ability and brains will never be replaced.  We can try to heal but I know that this sudden shock and pain is going to affect the kids and myself for a long time. 
Sweet dreams Kenzie, my little nutty marine who tried anything and everything he could, I know you loved me and would of worked on broken glass for me and I just hoped I gave you a great life of opportunity, fun and adventure throughout your too short time here. xxx


I express a huge thank you to Nicola and Stuart who were at the end of the phone throughout the whole ordeal, kept me rational, gave me guidance with advice and supported my every decision.  You both bred one simply amazingly talented boy and can not thank you enough for letting me have the pups and carry on his genes for the future of working Malamutes. xx