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Who Was Short Seeley?

June 14, 2024
Editor and/or Contributors

Short Seeley and Wonalancet Farm

A large measure of the success of the Siberian Husky and the Alaskan Malamute as a purebred sled and show dogs is given to a small, sprightly woman known as “Short” Seeley. When Arthur Walden left New Hampshire to go with Admiral Byrd, he left his Chinook kennels in the more than capable hands of Milton and Eva Seeley. The enthusiasm and complete professional dedication that the Seeleys lavished on northern dogs influenced (and still does) the status of these dogs all over the world.

The Seeleys established a school for dogs and dog drivers at Wonalancet Farm and kennels in the late 1920s. The graduates of this school, both human and canine, have gone on Antarctic expeditions, served in the United States Armed Forces, and made names for themselves on the sport racing trails. The kennel and training school at Wonalancet is the oldest privately run school in operation anywhere, and up until 1955, Short Seeley supplied dogs for the United States Navy’s Operation Deepfreeze in Antarctica.

True-to-Type Alaskan Malamute

The dogs favored by the Seeleys were Alaskan Malamutes and Siberian Huskies. It was primarily through their efforts that the American Kennel Club recognized a true-to-type Alaskan Malamute in 1938. The Seeleys organized the Alaskan Malamute Club of America and kept the New England Sled Dog Club in business after its first president went to Antarctica. Mrs. Seeley was one of three women who raced the New England trails during the 1930s. She was also the only woman to run sled dogs in the 1932 Olympics. Later in life, Mrs. Seeley had minimal involvement in her kennel operation while traveling all over the country as a judge for the American Kennel Club, working on books about her life and her dogs.

Mrs. Seeley, as the operator of Chinook Kennels for over fifty years, had seen over two thousand dogs enter her gates. These dogs’ accomplishments and the kennels’ achievements have been nationally recognized. Admiral Byrd visited in the early thirties, and a plaque was dedicated to all the sled dogs that served on the Byrd Expedition. In 1971, Senator Norris Colton, of New Hampshire, read a tribute to Short Seeley into the congressional record citing in particular her excellent contributions to the world of northern dogs. Mrs. Seeley was also honored by election to the Dog Mushers’ Hall of Fame. At the time of her election, she was one of only two women to be so distinguished.