And I thought WE had a lot of pets!

Tonight I went to a book club meeting (we discussed Frank McCourt's Teacher Man, in case you want to weigh in here). Anyway, the woman who hosted the meeting (a sweetheart, btw) took us to meet Cody, her lovable Husky, out in back of the totally charming log cabin home.

There was Cody . . . and 17 other dogs. Yep. Eighteen total. Running in circles, excited to see us, barking their greetings. Unlike the Husky, most of the others looked similar in breed and color - black with white chests.

Me: "Um...so you and your husband breed dogs?"

Very Nice Lady: "No."

Silence.

Me: "Oh."

Silence.

Me (because I can't keep my mouth shut): "It's, well, just that you have so many."

One of the other BCMs (Book Club Members) saved me from utter confusion. "Her husband is a musher."

Yep, he teaches micro-biology by day at a local university, and mushes on his time off. He can run the dogs in the summer with carts for practice. He takes them to a local mountain in the winter. He doesn't do the Iditarod, but does compete in smaller races here and in nearby states.

It was really interesting to learn about mushing. They own two teams (8 per team) plus their older two who no longer run. Most of the dogs are actually Euro-pointers (I think they're German short-hair pointers), and they pull a four-wheeler instead of a sled.

One thing led to another, and the musher husband said he'd bring a team to the local elementary school so the kids can see how it works. Cool, huh?

Can you think of any odd hobbies or occupations that might interest school kids? Or us?