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April 7, 2010

Will The Malamute Be Alaska’s State Dog?

The Alaskan malamute has been making quite a splash in Alaska’s legislature over the past three years after kindergarten through 7th grade students at Polaris School in Anchorage proposed House Bill 14 (HB14), which would formally designate the malamute as Alaska’s state dog.

In 2009, the House voted 31-6 in favor of HB14.  They have waited for almost a year and on April 18th, the bill will either come out of the Senate Rules Committee or be killed. 

These kids should be very proud of themselves.  They have put a lot of time and effort into their research on the Alaskan malamute and have worked very hard on this project.  We wish them the best, and as malamute lovers we thank them for choosing the malamute to represent our state!  Our team is up in the arctic right now with their paws crossed in hopes that this bill passes!  ;)

You can read an article written recently by some of the students here in the Anchorage Daily News.  They discuss their malamute research and their reasons behind selecting the malamute as a symbol of our state. 

To read about the progress the students have made over the course of three years, click on any of the Anchorage Daily News article titles below.

 Students think Alaska needs state dog
 ‘State dog’ bill goes to full House
 House names malamute state dog

 

Alaska State Symbols

Bird: Willow Ptarmigan
Fish: King Salmon
Flower: Forget-Me-Not
Tree: Sitka Spruce
Fossil: Wooly Mammoth
Gem: Jade
Insect: Four Spot Skimmer Dragonfly
Land Mammal: Moose
Marine Mammal: Bowhead Whale
Mineral: Gold
Sport: Dog Mushing
Dog: Alaskan Malamute…?  :)

Alaska state flag

 

  • http://www.thzkennels.com Tim McElravy

    Oh wow…here thought this was already a done deal…I wish Washington had a State dog…the Washington Huskies use a Malamute a their mascot…

    • Oh, dear…there does seem to be some confusion about what exactly the difference is between a malamute and a husky. It’s funny, but also kind of sad.

      We hope these kids meet with success. They have worked awfully hard on this bill. Malamutes get the short end of the stick in terms of recognition since huskies and husky mixes get so much attention nowadays for the major sled dog races. But the malamutes really do have an incredibly rich history in the arctic and they deserve to be honored, too. :)

      • http://www.thzkennels.com Tim McElravy

        I 100% agree with that…as great as the Iditarod dogs are for what they do I don’t see them making a living in the Arctic…I don’t see them being able able to survive doing what Joe and Your Mals are doing…as a lower 48er when I think Alaska I think tough, durable, hardy, hardworking, majestic….all terms I would use to describe the Malamute…I will admit I may be just a bit biased…

        We did a camp out at a race this year…folks were amazed and somewhat appalled (thought it was bad dog care) that I did not bed my Mals down with straw…temps were in the low 20’s I showed them that the big dogs were actually hot and sleeping sprawled out on the snow vs the skinny dogs curled up in their jackets shivering on the their straw beds…

        I surely believe the Malamute does not get the recognition he deserves…hopefully these kids’ Bill gets passed into Alaska State Law…the kids should be proud nonetheless.

  • http://dogblogemma.blogspot.com Emma Rose and The Duchess

    That makes total sense to me! I hope it happens… Keep us posted!

    • I will make an announcement (hopefully a happy one) when I hear what happens with this. Please tell Mr. Higgins, Bear, and Emma Rose to keep their paws crossed, too! ;)
  • Jennifer

    I hope it passes! The mals have a rich history and should be remembered for it! Wait till I tell Nanook! Lol

  • Pingback: Sweet Victory! « Alaskan Arctic Expeditions()
  • Alexis

    The Alaskan Malamute is the state dog!! Passed this morning!!

    • Hi, Alexis! Governor Parnell signed the bill into law at the Polaris School in Anchorage this morning!! Very exciting! :)

    Hi, it’s a very interesting post! I like reading it.
    Keep up the good work!