'Smiles for miles': N.B. man finds peace, happiness on the dog sled trail
No matter the temperatures, the snow or his mood, Doug Stoakley and his team of trusted hounds spend every day out on the trails.
“If it wasn’t for these dogs, I don’t know where I would be,” said the New Brunswick man who has been dogsledding for 15 years.
It all started with four black labs, a need for change and finding inspiration from a TV show about the Iditarod – a trail sled dog race.
“I had a job, that was a good paying job at the time, like 15 to 20 years ago, got into the mental health, depression and just hated the job,” he said. “I needed to do something different.”
For Doug, dogs have always been his happy place. He found serenity in a part-time kennel job, which only helped prove that dogs would be an important part of his life.
He then moved on to training police dogs, opening his own kennel -- which shut down during the pandemic -- and now training his own team to help pull the weight when things get a little too heavy.
“I found the more that I was training, the less the depression affected me. It seemed to, I was on all the medications, all they’d prescribe, but the medication just isn’t enough,” he said.
Talking openly about his mental health struggles, Doug has found a way to push through some of the daily obstacles.
“The way I train my dogs, for instance, if we have to cross a creek or something like that, if the dogs are nervous about it, I’ll coax them through and show them slowly it’s nothing to be afraid of. So I thought ‘Why don’t I use that for myself?’” he said.
“Depression sits in and it doesn’t go anywhere if you don’t do anything about it. And I’m finding just talking about it somewhat therapeutic.”
Right now the team is training for their first ever competition. A 30-mile race in Fort Kent, Maine.
“I kind of want to do it this year for my dogs because, well they deserve it and I’m super proud and I just love them to death and I want to do this for them as well as myself,” he said.
Doug has set up a GoFundMe page to help cover some of the expenses that comes with the new territory.
Money raised will help go towards vaccinations to allow the dogs to cross the border, fuel, harnesses, new safe gang line and tires for the dog truck.
Although he also struggles from social anxiety, this is a challenge he says he’s ready to take on, as long as he’s got his team with him.
“With the social anxiety, the training for this race, it’s going to do two things,” he explained. “It’s getting me out with my dogs, living in the moment and just feeling the love for life again, and the other side of it is the race side. So this is going to force me to go into social.”
With a team of dogs literally pulling him forward, Doug has found a way to fight depression and social anxiety, in a way that is unique to him.
Plus, with 16 dogs as part of the family, it’s a method that works even on the days when mental illness sneaks up on him again.
“A lot of times, as people know, when they suffer from depression, just getting out of bed can be a challenge,” he said. “For me, I’ll admit I wake up in the mornings and I don’t want to, minus 25 [degrees] and I don’t want to harness the dogs up and go, but they’re my family. They need it. They want it.”
“Honest to god, the second that I pull that hook and away we go, it’s just smiles for miles.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING King Charles' cancer treatment progressing well, says Buckingham Palace
King Charles III’s doctors are 'sufficiently pleased' with his cancer treatment and he is expected to return to public-facing duties, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday.
Orca calf that was trapped in B.C. lagoon for weeks swims free
An orca whale calf that has been stranded in a B.C. lagoon for weeks after her pregnant mother died swam out on her own early Friday morning.
'Unacceptable': Trudeau reacts after AFN chief says headdress taken from plane cabin
After the Assembly of First Nations' national chief said her headdress was taken from an airplane cabin this week, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the incident 'unacceptable' and a 'mistake' on the part of Air Canada.
Regina police officer injured after being accidentally shot by fellow officer's gun
An investigation is underway after a Regina police officer was accidentally shot by a fellow officer’s gun during the search of a house early Friday morning.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
DEVELOPING Bird flu outbreaks: WHO weighs in on public health risk
The current overall public health risk posed by the H5N1 bird flu virus is low, the World Health Organization said on Friday, but urged countries to stay alert for cases of animal-to-human transmission.
Taylor Swift dons Montreal designer's dress in 'Fortnight' video
A pair of Montreal designers' work has now been viewed over 41 million times. Taylor Swift dons a Victorian throwback black gown in her latest music video, 'Fortnight', designed by UNTTLD due Simon Belanger and Jose Manuel Saint-Jacques.
From faulty kids' cribs to flammable kids' bathrobes, here are the recalls of the week
Health Canada issued recalls for various items this week, including kids’ bathrobes, cribs and henna cones.
Island near Mull of Kintyre for sale for US$3.1 million
An idyllic 453-acre private island is up for sale off the west coast of Scotland and it comes with sandy beaches, puffins galore, seven houses, a pub, a helipad and a flock of black-faced sheep.