‘Tails of Triumph:’ Unlikely survivor Mighty Mite named the mascot for Wasilla’s Centennial

WASILLA — It goes without saying that a city’s centennial celebration requires an official mascot, and for its, the City of Wasilla partnered with the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman to find its perfect representative.

By the time all the Facebook votes were cast, one dog stood out from the 135 Wasilla pets to be entered. And in many ways, the story of Mighty Mite, an Australian blue heeler, mirrors the story of Wasilla itself.

“From what I understand, Wasilla started as a small, struggling town,” said Mighty Mite’s owner Brittany Maynard. “But it got bigger and stronger as the years went by until it became the town it is today.”

Wasilla’s official centennial mascot was born to a litter whose mother was also owned by Maynard and her family and to say he was the runt would be putting it mildly.

“He was born less than a third of the size of his litter mates — he was the size of a McDonald’s toy. I could hold him in the palm of my hand,” Maynard said. “He was 2.2 ounces and all of his siblings were 8 ounces apiece. He was rejected by his mom at first, so I took him and started to bottle-feed him.”

Two weeks into life, Mighty Mite developed pneumonia and Brittany had to give him his medicine at one milliliter at a time, practically on the hour. Brittany set up social media pages in support of Mighty Mite’s cause and five months later, he boasts more than 500 Facebook followers.

“We wouldn’t be anywhere near where we are with him without those people pulling for him,” Brittany said. “They got me up in the middle of the night to give him his medicine.”

Armed with that kind of social media support it was probably a fait accompli that Mighty Mite would be crowned Wasilla’s official mascot for its centennial at Saturday’s brief and intimate ceremony at the Dorothy Page Museum, wherein the three finalists were invited and the announcement made.

Chelsea Fields’ dog Henry wound up runner-up, meaning that if Mighty Mite is ever unable to attend a centennial function, to include the July 4 parade, Halloween and Thanksgiving celebrations, Henry is on the ready to pinch hit.

Henry, too, has had his own health struggles with bouts of periodic epilepsy.

“He’s very energetic, friendly and outgoing — sometimes too much, but overall, he’s just very friendly,” Fields said, adding that a dog makes a fitting mascot for Wasilla’s big year. “My husband and I have been dog people our entire lives and the Valley is a very dog-friendly community. Workplaces here even welcome pets a lot of times, so I think it’s appropriate.”

Mayor Bert Cottle presided over Saturday’s ceremony and agreed that Mighty Mite makes a fitting representative of Wasilla’s story.

“He’s a survivor, so he’s at least our pet of the year, if not pet of the century,” Cottle said.

This latest feather in Mighty Mite’s cap ought to enhance his newest philanthropic project on Facebook called “We Journey on: Tails of Triumph” contest.

“We offer free professional photo sessions to animals who have survived the odds, be it epilepsy or amputation or cancer,” she said. “Hopefully we can then make a calendar for the people of Wasilla to see all these dogs that have fought through so much.”

Brittany said proceeds from the sale of those calendars would go toward pet-friendly charities.

For more information about the project, visit facebook.com/pg/TheJourneyPhotographybyCris.