So What's a Chinook?

Helo, the new pup's sire

My beloved dog, Ruckus, died of cancer in the summer of 2009.  I had gotten Ruckus from the daughter of our church secretary in Westford, Mass. who was going to college and couldn't take the dog.  Ruckus came to me with his own cat, Gatsby.  They were both four years old, both tawny colors.
 

Earlier this year I began to feel it was time to get another dog.  I ran the idea past Gatsby who had reservations, so I promised him that I wouldn't get an unknown dog from a shelter but would find one who, like Ruckus, would get along with him.
 

That's when I remembered seeing a newsclip about the Chinook, a rare breed that it was in the news as it became the New Hampshire State Dog.  When I saw the newsclip, I still had Ruckus and noted how similar they were in both appearance and temperament.  As I read about the breed, one of its claim to fame was not only getting along with people and other dogs, but also other species--e.g. cats.
 

I told Gatsby I would look into the matter and hunted for breeders.  Lo and behold, out of eleven breeders nationwide, two of them were in towns where I had pastored churches:  Granite Hill Chinooks in Dover, NH and Lakeside Run Chinooks in Westford, MA.  What are the odds of that?  Both were hoping for litters this summer.  I contacted and met the breeders and made a contract for a pup.
 

I ended up with the best of both worlds, as the sire of the litter came from the Dover pack and the dam from Westford.  The Mama's name is Arwen.  As a huge Lord of the Rings Fan, that seemed entirely appropriate.  The pups were born on June 16, 2010.