Granite the sled dog

As a puppy, Granite was the smallest of the litter and sickly. Folks advised Susan to give him away. However, Susan wanted to keep him and she believed in the little pup and wanted him to succeed. When young, he didn't have any confidence. Susan said he was afraid of his own shadow, but he worked hard and loved to race. Granite's first race was in 1984. In the fall of 1987, Granite collapsed on a run. Realizing that he was seriously ill, Susan rushed him to a vet where he was diagnosed with a kidney infection that caused a heat stroke. As a result, Granite would have to live with permanent heart,liver, kidney, and brain damage-IF he lived at all. Susan stayed with him for every minute of two long scary weeks. Granite showed some improvement, but the vet, sure that Granite would not live long, said his racing days were over. he began improving somemore and the vet allowed Susan to take him on short walks, then he could run with the puppies, then he started to pull the sled, and pretty soon, he was back in the race. in the '85 Idarod, Susan and team suffered a devastating set back. An angry moose charged at the team. Granite was in the lead and fought the animal to defend his teammates. The moose kicked Granite into a tree and injured several other dogs. Although in the lead, Susan had to withdraw from the race and care for her disabled dogs. In 2005, Susan recieved the shocking news that she had leukemia. She fought the disease with all her strenghth and spunk she was known for. Sadly, Susan lost the fight against cancer in August of 2006.