Maliko will be joining the Ryno Kennel team for the 2015-2016 race season, although this won't be her first time working with the Ryno athletes. In the summer of 2013, Maliko lived at Ryno Kennel and helped exercise the adults as well as socialize the new puppies that summer- Fenton, Lefty, CJ, Belle, Eider, Drake, Coot, and Brant!
An avid animal lover from a young age, Maliko ran her first team (comprised of a whopping 1 dog) at age 9 in a children's race and nabbed 1st place at Chugiak Track. After that, she was completely hooked. Her parents, however, had other ideas, and a few years later whisked the family off to Thailand to give both Maliko and her brother an overseas experience. Maliko continued to work with animals outside of the mushing world until her early 20s when she worked for Lloyd Gilbertson in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. From there, she continued to run sled dogs and eventually ended up back in Alaska as a tour guide and eventually running her first race, the 2015 Northern Lights 300. She will continue to share her love of mushing in Juneau as an employee of Gold Rush Dog Tours, and is excited to be headed up to Fairbanks after the summer tour season to handle for Ryno Kennel in the upcoming winter season.
http://goldrushdogs.com
