Some tourists in Alaska recently found out that they needed more than horsepower to get their rented Jeep Cherokee out of the snow. Luckily, they got some help – in the form of dog power.
“Neil Eklund and his son, Lauro, were returning from giving a dogsled tour on the Chena River when they saw a silver SUV stuck in the snow by Pike’s Landing. Like many good Samaritans, they figured they ought to lend a hand,” according to News-Miner. That silver SUV? A new Jeep Cherokee. Based on its wheels, it appears to be a Latitude model. (We assume it has four-wheel drive, but that doesn’t really matter now, does it?)
The father and son duo, which operates Skookum Expeditions, had just wrapped up taking some people on a dogsled tour past Pike’s Landing and were on their way back when they spotted the hapless sightseers and their immobile rig. The two Eklunds dropped off their passengers, came back to the Jeep, then hooked their nine-dog sled team up to it. After some digging and pushing from their human handlers, the pooches pulled and took care of the rest. Their enthusiasm for moving forward eventually freed the Jeep.
Brings a whole new meaning to the idea of dogs being man’s best friend, doesn’t it? In this case, they happened to be a Jeep’s best last resort. No winch, no traction pads or other means of getting grip, and apparently no other vehicles (such as a Power Wagon) were around to pull this Cherokee out. The people who drove it (and got it jammed in the white stuff) got lucky – and a helluva story to tell their friends for the rest of their lives.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
