Shorty Russick came from Russia via New York to Canada. He was a trapper who initially settled in The Pas, Manitoba, but he later operated a trading post at Pelican Narrows near the town of Flin Flon on the border between Manitoba and Saskatchewan. In 1924 Russick won The Pas Dog Derby, a 200-mile course from The Pas to Flin Flon and back, in a record time of 23:24 hrs. Two years later, he won the first prize of $1,000 in a three-cornered race over 140 miles in New Hampshire from North Conway to Wolfeboro to Ashland and back. Russick bred his own dogs, preferring cross-breeds between Hounds and Huskies. He had a reputation of treating his dogs in a friendly way and hardly ever using a whip. He was also a co-discoverer of a gold deposit near Flin Flon. A lake in Northern Manitoba near his original trapping grounds has been officially named Russick Lake in his honor.
Canada