International Hall of Fame 2020 - Micky

Micky. He has to have been one of the best rescues one could ever have been blessed with. We brought Micky into our family from a friend who needed to rehome him as he wasn’t liked by his other dogs. He was a few months shy of 4 years old and 102 lbs. of pure energy and joy. He fit right in with our two mastiffs, quickly becoming a pack mate and trusted friend. Micky took to everything we introduced him to, from rally obedience, to therapy work, to carting in parades, to tracking, to barn hunt, to lure course, and to, of course … weight pulling. He was a true working dog, eager to be busy and to be working with his teammate/handler/owner. That’s all it took for him to be happy and give his all. He proved to us that he was as gentle as a kitten but inside he had the heart of a lion.

Micky took to the challenge of weight pulling like no other dog we’ve ever seen. I’ve documented well over 200 events that he competed in with IWPA, NWDA (National Working Dog Association), Iron Dog, APA (American Pulling Alliance), TSAMC (Tri-State Alaskan Malamute Club), and W3PO (World Wide Weight Pull Organization). He started pulling for us in IWPA in January 2011 and competed in his first IWPA Championship in Calgary Alberta in May 2013. In IWPA during the 9 years Micky pulled for us, Micky earned 10 Gold Regional Medals, 7 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze. At Championships he made his mark by earning 11 Championship Medals, including 5 Gold Medals and 1 Bronze Medal on Snow, and 4 Silver Medals and 1 Bronze Medal on Wheels. When Micky competed at Championships in 2018 we were amazed that this 11 year old Newfoundland earned his 10th and 11th International Championships Medals, including a Gold on snow. The grit of this boy was just impossible to measure.

With the NWDA, Micky was the point leader for his class in 2013 and earned 1st place at their Nationals.
Micky pulled with IronDog and took most Weight Pulled at their 2013 Championships in Bourbonnais, IL.
At the TSAMC Micky took most weight pulled at their Nationals held in 2014 as well as 2015.
While pulling with W3PO, Micky earned the Triple Crown at their National Summits held in May 2014 by not only winning his class on all 3 surfaces (snow, wheels and rails) but also by pulling the most weight on each of those 3 surfaces.

Micky’s personal bests were 11,930 lbs. on rails, 4,325 lbs. on snow and 4,609 lbs. on wheels.

Micky pulled at his last IWPA Championship in Estes Park, CO. He was retired at age 12 on April 28th, 2019 after his last successful wheel pull of 1,700 lbs. It was interesting to note that he attempted the pull and was unsuccessful. It was then discovered that the cart had a flat tire. After the cart was repaired, I was asked if I wanted him to try it again. I said I doubted if he would try it again but said sure. He either would or he wouldn’t. He pulled that weight and I immediately withdrew him from competition.

On May 27, 2019, we took Micky to the vet as he seemed more tired than usual. He was 12 so we presumed it was his age catching up with him. Unfortunately, it was discovered he had 3 enlarged lymph nodes. Biopsies were taken, and on May 30, 2019 we were given the news that Micky had a very aggressive type of lymphoma. On June 8, 2019, only 9 days later we had to make the compassionate but heartbreaking decision to help Micky over the Rainbow Bridge.

Micky touched hundreds of lives with his therapy work, visiting schools, working with me at Camp Dogwood in WI, and his other many endeavors. He’s left a mark on our lives and we feel blessed and honored to have been able to bring out the best in this boy and will always feel he brought out the best in us.