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Rex Jones leads one of his Arctic Paws Kennel and Sled Dog Racing School students out of the starting chute during SundayÕs Chugiak Dog Mushers Association Junior Fun Run. Jones has been teaching sled dog racing for 11 years.
Star Photo By DARRELL L. BREESE
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Rex Jones kept busy wrangling his dogs at the Chugiak Dog Mushers Association Junior Fun Run Sunday. But Jones wasn't competing, as he is the owner of Arctic Paw Kennels and Sled Dog School in Chugiak, and he brought teams for several of his students to use in the race on the Beach Lake trails.
In addition to having 11 students at Sunday's fun run, three of his top students were competing in the Arctic Winter Games sled dog race in Yellowknife, Northwest Territory, Canada.
While it was a busy weekend for Jones, he wouldn't have things any other way.
“I love the dogs, and I love kids,” he said. “It doesn't get any better than this.”
In the middle of prepping 11 dog teams for racing, Jones dropped everything to assist a mushing school student, 5-year old Evan Jones (no relation), who wasn't sure he wanted to compete.
“Are you a brave boy?” Rex Jones asked as he knelt next to the sled. “You'll do fine. Just remember what I taught you about your hands, knees and toes, and you'll do great.”
Evan Jones, who moved to Alaska two years ago from Georgia with his family, is completing his first winter with the sled dog school, and Jones reminded him of the hands, knees and toes technique he taught each of his student in August when instruction began.
“Put your hands here and get a good grip,” he said. “OK, you got that. Now remember to bend your knees and point your toes out. Are you ready?”
Still uncertain, Rex Jones reassured the young musher and said, “I'll ride with you, and it will be alright.”
With that, Rex Jones jumped on the back of the sled, and with a hike, the pair were off around the quarter-mile loop. Somewhere in the middle of the lap, the instructor jumped off the sled, allowing a smiling Evan Jones to race across the finish line alone.
“That's what it is all about,” he said of the change in the young musher that occurred during the less than a minute it took him to complete the loop. “That's the goal of the sled dog school. To help kids overcome a fear and gain the self-confidence they need to get through life.”
Evan Jones' mother, Tracy, said her son has come out of his shell since working with Rex Jones at the sled dog school, in part because of his ability to reach the children.
“I'm a teacher, and to see Rex reach out to the kids and help them grow as a person is something I respect,” she said. “He knows how to communicate with the kids in a tangible manner that they can understand.”
It was a similar experience with a veteran musher in Michigan that turned Rex Jones on to the sport when he was a boy.
“Frank Hall took me for a ride with his team when I was 8 years old, and I was hooked,” Rex said. “Then he took me under his wing and taught me all about mushing and caring for the dogs. That really made an impression on me.”
After growing up, Rex Jones joined the Army, and when he was stationed in Alaska, he purchased his first dogs and began Arctic Paws Kennel.
“It started out as a hobby, but in 1996, I was asked to do a demonstration for the kids on Fort Richardson. The next thing I knew, I was teaching classes,” he said. “Then when I retired in 1997, I got a sponsorship from Alaska Fiberstar and was able to fly over to Europe and purchase dogs from Egil Ellis. That's when the school began.”
Since then, there have been 185 students attending his sled dog school, including the 15 currently enrolled.
“I teach kids from the age of 4 to the age of 17 to race my dogs,” he said. “I help kids who need a little direction in life and boys and girls who need something they can be responsible for.”
In addition to the sled dog school, which operates as a nonprofit, Jones works closely with the Make a Wish Foundation.
“Those are really special kids, and I enjoy working with them,” he said. “Instead of making the experience a highlight for the kids, I get their whole family involved with everything from feeding the dogs to riding the sled. To see a smile on the face of the entire family as they ride behind a dog team for the first time makes it all worth it for me.”
In the past year, Jones and the dogs from Arctic Paws Kennel have worked with three Make a Wish families. He also works with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, offering classes.
In addition to Jones' ability to connect with each student and their families, the dogs are what make the kennel a success.
“We were concerned when our daughter, Alison, wanted to start running sled dogs,” said Donna Bacon, who started bringing her daughter to the sled dog school two years ago. “We called ASDRA (Alaska Sled Dog Racing Association) and asked who teaches kids, and they said Rex. But we were unsure how the dogs would be around the kids.”
“They are the best dogs I've seen,” Chris Bacon said. “That is what makes the whole experience so rewarding to us as a family.”
In addition to Alison Bacon, who ran a two-dog team Sunday, 4-year-old Sophie Bacon was the youngest musher to compete in the races. In fact, she is completing her second full year of racing with the sled dog school.
The experience with the sled dog school has even led the Bacons to invest into three sled dogs, a pair of sleds and a dog box for the back of their truck.
Sharing his love for sled dog racing and working to preserve Alaska's official state sport motivates Jones to teach the next generation the joy of racing.
“I opened the school to give back what Frank Hall gave me so many years ago,” he said. “To see a former or current student carry on the Alaska tradition of mushing is just as valuable to me as seeing a student win a race.”
Jones operates Arctic Paws and the sled dog school as a nonprofit, supplementing the upkeep and maintenance of the kennel with his work as a civilian telecommunications specialist on Elmendorf Air Force Base and with sponsors from local businesses to large corporations.
“We rely heavily on sponsors to keep things going,” he said. “They also help keep the sled dog school affordable. I hate to turn kids away because their family can't afford it.
“We're always looking for sponsors,” he continued. “We'll put their company logo on the dog truck and on our racing jersey. Plus, they'll be helping kids get a positive experience, while keeping mushing alive for the next generation.”
To learn more about Arctic Paws Kennel and the sled dog racing school, contact Rex Jones at 688-0445 or on the Web at www.arcticpawskennel.com.
Reach the reporter at darrell.breese@alaskastar.com.
