Howling good time

BIG LAKE — As the dog mushing season comes to a close, Autism Alaska is racing to raise awareness about autism.

Autism Alaska and Aurora Dog Mushers collaborated Saturday for the first Mat-Su Mini Mushers Sled Dog Challenge — a day filled with dog mushing, food and family fun.

Trisha Kolegar, co-founder and president of Autism Alaska, said she grew up dreaming of racing dogs. In 2000, she ran in and finished the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. As a mother of an autistic child, she’s trying to share her love of the sport and give area children with special needs a new experience.

“For me, to be able to share my passion for mushing with other people is always great,” Kolegar said. “And to be able to share it with other mothers that are in the trenches like I am with a child that has a disability is even better, because they totally get it and I totally get that, yep, this might be problematic, but that’s OK and we will make it work.”

Having a day of dog mushing for the state’s autistic children began as an idea for a fundraiser for Autism Alaska. As a nonprofit organization, Autism Alaska provides financial support and other resources to help families impacted by autism. The service is especially important considering some insurance does not cover treatment of autism. To help relieve the financial burden, the organization provides mini grants for those in need.

Kolegar said Saturday’s Mat-Su Mini Mushers event brought in about $2,000, but the sled dog challenge has a larger influence than simply raising funds.

“The real purpose of this was to try to get it so that it was completely geared toward [people living with autism], so that it was a community event where we were having some real meaningful community interaction,” she said.

Although participants faced their own challenges before and after the event, smiles and laughter were a common as they enjoyed a new activity and got to know the dogs. A crowd of parents and volunteers cheered as teams mushed to the finish and children raised their hands celebrating an exciting trip down the trail.

Mari and Jeff Damato ventured to help with the sled dog challenge to share a day of fun and new experiences with their 2-year-old son, Ren. For Mari, who grew up in Tokyo, Japan, the event served as a perfect opportunity to share her first sled dog ride with her son.

“It was amazing,” she said. “Even though he might not remember, I know he felt something through the experience.”

Similar to the Damatos, Danny and Debra Compton said they brought their 5-year-old son Zachary to the challenge to participate in a new life experience. Not only was the event fun and exciting, it was a great opportunity for Zachary to interact with other children.

“Autism is a social problem, so it helps him to learn social skills, to participate and not to just stay within himself,” Danny Compton said.

Although Autism Alaska organized Saturday’s event, Kolegar said the Mat-Su community pulled together to make it happen. Businesses, parents and other community-minded groups donated money, time and effort.

One of those is Aurora Dog Mushers.

Larisa Myers-McCoin, president of Aurora Dog Mushers, said her group was happy to lend a hand and donate track time for sled dog challenge.

“This is the best thing you could do for kids,” she said, adding that watching kids enjoy a day of dog mushing was rewarding. Having the medals around their [necks] and seeing the kids come across the finish line is the best part.”

Kolegar said the first Mini Mushers Sled Dog Challenge was a great start to an event she hopes will grow year after year.

“The long-range plan of this would be to turn it into kind-of like Special Olympics, where kids are actually hooking up with mushers and learning how to mush,” she said. “We just need to start somewhere, but this is a really good start, because we have a lot of people really interested and helping foster this so it will turn into what we would ultimately like it to turn into.”

For more information about Autism Alaska, visit www.autismalaska.org.

Contact Chris Gillow at chris.Gillow@frontiersman.com or 352-2284.