Moon Run Kennels in Chugiak, Alaska, is the dream of Jim and Bonnie Foster, who moved from Florida to Alaska in 2003. Jim wrote on their web site for Moon Run Kennels, “In 2001, my wife and I decided we needed to move out of Florida. Bonnie’s dog obsession was in full swing by then so considered active mushing communities.

Turned out there’s no place better to get involved with dog mushing than Alaska, and as luck would have it, this is where we found a job. On our move up to Alaska on the AlCan we stopped in at Frank Turner’s kennel, MukTuk. Bonnie had been communicating with him on the Internet researching Lacy’s history. MukTuk was our first introduction to a big racing kennel. We were totally enthralled. I could not imagine a better life than Frank’s. And so it started.”

From that beginning, that love of sled dogs and the sport of mushing, Jim and Bonnie forged a kennel, which they describe as a dog-dude ranch and retirement center. Anyone who’s been to their home knows the description is apt. The dogs are as welcome in their beautiful home as the people who visit, and their furry friends can be found relaxing on sofas and chairs right along with people. The vibe at Moon Run Kennels is relaxed, welcoming, and dog-friendly (“We don’t need no stinkin’ leashes!”), and the Moon Run kennelmates, whose lineages include dogs from such well-known mushers as Jon Little, Zack Steer, and Frank Turner, among others, are some of the luckiest dogs in Alaska. For several years Jim and Bonnie hosted one of the most popular open-house gatherings before the Iditarod, as top-notch mushers, fans and friends all converged to fill their home with fun, laughter, memories of past races and excitement about the race.

Enter Misha Pedersen, from Prague in the Czech Republic is a 43-year-old dog driver who’s been mushing a dozen years. She spent her first two winters in Alaska with Charlie and Robin Boulding and got hooked on mushing, before moving to the state permanently in 2003. She worked five years as a guide for Vern Halter’s Dream a Dream Dog Farm in Willow, and for the 2010-2011 season she moved north to Two Rivers and worked for Judy and Devan Currier’s Lara-Ke Kennel. Her first race, in 2000, was the Henry Hahn 100. In 2006 she completed the Serum Run, in winter of 2009-10 she completed the Knik 200, the Tustemena 200 and the Klondike 300, finishing sixth in the K-300. Last season, she completed the Sheep Mountain 150 and the Yukon Quest 300, finishing seventh in the latter race.

And now, after traveling nearly 1,000 miles in the toughest sled dog race in the world, she’s about to become a Yukon Quest finisher with a team of Alaskan huskies from Moon Run Kennel and Yaks Lair Kennel, owned by Leslie Morrison of Eagle River. On race website, she answered the question, “What do you love most about running sled dogs?” with the reply, “They are like three musketeers, one for all and all for one.”

On Feb. 1, the team hit the road for Fairbanks and the Yukon Quest: Bonnie, her son Randy, Misha, and Misha’s mother, Jona, along with 15 sled dogs. Staying with friends, they made final preparations for the longer journey ahead.

Bonnie’s posts to her Facebook page told the race story in spare but telling detail:

• Feb. 4, 1:41 pm: Dogs looked wonderful taking off. The radio announcer said they were the most enthusiastic looking.

• Feb. 5, 12:54 am: In Two Rivers. Misha and dogs look good. All bedded down