Team of sled dogs takes visitors on guided tours in Timmins area
A new business near Timmins is offering tours of local trails with some unique guides: a team of sled dogs.
Jacob Betker, owner of Abitibi Sled Dogs, said demand is growing for dog-powered snow tours and there are no other offerings in the region.
Before ATVs and snowmobiles, dogs and sleds were an important form of transportation to help settlers get around snowy terrain, especially in northern Ontario.
Betker said canines bred for those jobs have largely been laid off over the decades -- and options for guided tours have been disappearing in the province.
Originally racing sled dogs in his free time, Betker decided to start his own business to give dogs and humans the chance to go back in time.
“We want to preserve, kind of, the history and keep this alive and in a capacity where they are actually able to travel the northern Boreal, like they used to,” he said.
With a team of about 13 dogs — and two litters hoping to grow it into up to 30 — Betker is preparing to offer a small number of tours on two local trails to start with.
He calls the experience a balance between perfection and chaos, particularly as the team gets excited to run.
“It’s almost like a group of football players running onto the field and banging helmets and that kind of thing,” Betker said.
“And then, as soon as we take off, it’s complete quietness and you literally hear the footsteps and the panting of the dogs … and you’re gliding overtop of the snow at about an inch and a half, just above the trail.”
Provincial regulation changes last summer made it expensive to start up the business, which Betker said was unnecessary.
But he said the most important thing for him is keeping his dogs healthy and taking people on a calm yet thrilling ride.
“You become one with the dogs,” he said.
“You literally become one unit, where each member relies on the other to travel across this land like people have for generations.”
Betker said he wants to offer longer excursions that would take people on trips lasting several days, for a more immersive experience.
He hopes to be in full operation, with more young and energetic dogs, sometime next year.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'
Ukraine uses long-range missiles secretly provided by U.S. to hit Russian-held areas, officials say
Ukraine for the first time has begun using long-range ballistic missiles provided secretly by the United States, bombing a Russian military airfield in Crimea last week and Russian forces in another occupied area overnight, American officials said Wednesday.