Dogsledding: performer Janet Cull has a new hobby
Fans know her as a singer and performer, but Janet Cull has a new passion: dogsledding.
While Cull lives in St. John's, a visit to Labrador a few years ago opened her eyes to excitement of a dogsled ride. She said she's been "hooked ever since."
Her love for the winter activity led her to purchase a sled for her two Siberian huskies.
"We hooked them onto the sled and they just knew what to do," she said.
"It was so cool, so we've been doing it ever since."
Memory of days gone by
Cull, who grew up in St Anthony Bight on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula, said she has always been used to a lot of snow during the winter.
While dogsledding wasn't popular when she was young, she added it had been quite important in the past.
"When mom and dad were younger and their parents, that's how they all travelled — by dogs, Labrador huskies," said Cull adding that her grandfather, Pierce Pilgrim, kept teams his whole life.
Lots of reaction
Cull said most people seem to be in shock when they see her around the city with her dogsled but added her dogs have sparked a lot of interest with people of all ages.
"It's not something you see every day but people are really excited about it ... the kids are really excited about it which is very cool, because it's nice to keep them in touch with their culture," Cull told CBC's St. John's Morning Show.
Cull's eight-year-old son has also taken a liking to the activity. He may not drive the sled, but he loves going for rides.
A 'nice, smooth ride'
With only two huskies, Cull said she doesn't get a lot of speed with the sled but it's a "nice, smooth ride".
She's thinking about adding a third dog, a Labrador husky, to her team.
They may not be as fast as the Siberian huskies but Cull said the dog would be very special to have, since there aren't many of the full-breed dogs left.
She was told there are only about 60 full-breed Labrador huskies in the province.
"That's really sad because back in the day [they] were all Labrador huskies and we didn't really differentiate because we didn't have to ... it's important to our culture, because these were working dogs," said Cull.
"They're not for racing. They were working dogs," she said. "They're much bigger than the Siberian and they're so strong — it's just insane how these dogs pull. It's amazing."