Most of the employed folk must have heard at one time or another, that planning ones retirement is of the essence and that this should be done early enough when one is still energetic with time to work. As much as this is important, some do not take this seriously only to be overtaken by the rude shock of retirement when the day is finally come.

Monthly pension remittance is one of the ways that has been adopted by various authorities to help people save for their old age but in reality, there is nothing much to gain from such schemes. Hence, every working individual has a responsibility to plan well for that particular time long before it comes.

For Heather and Kurt Vendelborg, the reality of what they would be into when they had finally hanged their boots, dawned on them when they were semi retired. Just like many people, they were not filled with so many expectations but rather imagined that it would be a slow kind of life when it sets in.

Hence, all they could wish for was a dog to walk in the woods as they shared stories of their early days at work; maybe. But all this changed when they went on vacation in Sweden and thereafter visited Domanay in Holytood Park. This is what changed their perception and thinking all together.

These encountered huskies and soon after this, they began their research on huskies aided by the Kennel Club after which they took an initiative of reaching out to breeders. What became of this was identification and taking in of 8 weeks old puppies, which they named Mishka and Yukon.

Heather and Kurt went on to grow to a team of 9 Kennel Club registered Siberian Huskies, with each week costing them a total of £50 to feed the huskies on fish or raw meat and Red Mills Racer. The latter is a special greyhound racing diet. This enabled them to take to the races running 2, 3 or 4 dog teams pulling 3 wheeled rigs.

Kurt has run a 6 dog team in club rallies and going forward, they will make play back of runs, races and training sessions available on video. Heather and Kurt also participate in races in Culbin Forest near Forres, The Black Isle, Ae Forest near Dumfires, Berwickshire and Aviemore where as many as 250 dog teams come together yearly in January for the biggest rally in UK.

At Winton House, the husky event takes place in the walled garden where there are no distractions and 10 to 16 groups of visitors can participate in the event at any one time though a group of 10 is most preferred. Part of the preparations just before the event kicks off involves the even matching of various dogs into two teams and it is usually a time for visitors to enjoy the thrill of running a small team over a short distance.

So if you had not thought of life after retirement for those in employment, you need to do so and plan about it as well. There is a lot to learn from Heather and Kurt’s story in line with this and you can borrow from them too.