There’s more to sled dog racing than the Iditarod and the wilds of Alaska. In fact, sled dogs and sled dog races can be found even in New Jersey.

Cosette and Balog Atreyu were pleased to be introduced to Keeper, a seven-year-old Siberian Husky, and he felt the same way.

And while we’re at it, let’s quickly dispel a couple of other myths about sled dog racing.

First of all, sled dog drivers don’t command their teams to start racing by yelling “mush.” The proper term is “hike” – take that, football! Mush, which originated from the French word marche, which means go or run, is too soft of a word to use on the trail, despite sled dogs’ good hearing.