A Few Recollections From My Time Spent with the BAS Huskies (continued)
Hence, at the age of 20 years, I was landed with the role of having to care for seven dogs and two bitches selected for the start of a breeding programme, as the total B.A.S. population of Huskies had become depleted. This, without any experience apart from having grown up with dogs at home, mainly Border Collies, as my mother was a farmer’s daughter; the B.A.S. Husky was a vastly different proposition however from looking after a family pet
Bred for size, and musculature, combined with long legs to cope with deep snow, one of my dogs, ‘Podger’, weighed in at 140lb. Fortunately, being mild mannered and down the pecking order he was always a joy to work with. My lead dog at Base ‘B’ ‘Pouka’ was a different kettle of fish. In looks he would pass for a wolf and had the stare. I quickly learned to treat him with the utmost respect as he had been what was termed a ‘King Dog’ over some 120 other dogs on the sledging Base ‘E’ on Stonington Island. To gain his respect I was careful not to chastise him and would take every opportunity to take him on walks away from the other dogs when he would demonstrate a whole different side to his character. I could wrestle with him in the snow. I was used to recognising levels of intellect in dogs, working with the Border Collies at home, but nothing compared to ‘Pouka’, with whom I developed a deep understanding.
From a veterinary aspect, I was clueless and developed knowledge from being ‘hands on’. There was very little on Base in the way of veterinary literature, although we were supplied with a comprehensive kit and I soon became adept at suturing and administering worming tablets etc. The major challenge came when attempting to mate the dogs and rear the pups. Again, it was largely instinct that got me through. I was unaware for example that dogs, when they tie, often turn around to face in the opposite direction with what appears to be excruciating consequences for both the dog and bitch!
On Base ‘B’, I eventually had the task of dispatching three retired dogs, all with severe osteoarthritis. In each case, it was as if they knew the outcome of a long morning stroll as I delivered the lead pill.
On Base ‘T’ I had successfully bred three lots of pups; the first brood, once they had been weaned, broke into an ice cave which we had constructed to preserve lamb carcases shipped down from the Falkland Islands so that we could enjoy fresh meat occasionally. The pups made short work of two of the sides of lamb and landed me with the problem of one pup developing an intestinal blockage. Fortunately, the piece of lamb bone causing the blockage was not too far up the rectum and I managed to turn it without too much distress to the pup.
I was quite unaware that dogs could suffer from haemophilia and the fact that three of the pups bred at Base ‘T’ from the same parents had the condition. A.C. Palmer talks of ‘Malig’ one of my pups having the condition. Two of his brothers had been put down whilst I was away from base on what we termed a ‘Summer Jolly’ visiting Base K.G. Fossil Bluff to make sure the unmanned base was fit for habitation. One of those pups I had decided to ship back home as he had been in a fight and suffered severe damage to the inside of one of his thighs, and even though I thought I had made a good job of suturing, our Director at the time, Sir Vivian Fuchs, decided that the pup would not survive the harsh conditions given that hair would not re-grow on the damaged area.
It remained tradition for Dog Handlers whenever contemplating a lengthy journey, that they build or re-build a ‘Nansen’ sledge. In my 2½ years with B.A.S., I rebuilt two sledges and was I thankful for my time spent as a Boy Scout, as many of the joints and fitments involved intricate knowledge of rope work/lashings. The exercise was necessary as one could then easily repair any damage to the sledge when away from Base.
I was never more impressed with my Huskies than the time when some 40 miles from Base, following a Muskeg tractor which was disappearing into the distance, when my lead dog at the time ‘Count’ suddenly started looking around and slowing up. We had been led into a huge crevasse field by the tractor, and he sensed that all was not well. Eventually I had to form a snow bridge across an opened crevasse and gingerly pass each dog over a pinned down Nansen sledge before making our way out to safer ground.
Along with my fellow Dog Handlers we developed a huge respect for the Husky and mourn their loss from the Antarctic scene, whilst respecting that perhaps being non-native and superseded by motorized vehicles, they no longer have a place in the Southern Hemisphere.
As a measure of historical record I, along with a number of my Dog Handling colleagues, were privileged to see a B.A.S. Husky Dog Family Tree set up at the new British Base on Adelaide Island called ‘Rothera’ in the year 2000 when many of we F.I.D.S. as we are affectionately known (Falkland Island Dependency Survey), visited the Grahamland Peninsula once again.
I could continue to wax lyrical ad-nauseum about my time spent in the Antarctic, particularly with the Husky Dogs and, along with my Dog Handler colleagues, continue to have the deepest affection for them. In their day, they surely contributed on many occasions to saving lives and sanity.
Bernard Chappel, BSc, M.I.F.M. – Cook/Met. Deception 1965, Adelaide 1966