MEET THE TEAM

JOSH & JOBIE MCNEAL

Co-Owner, Crooked Creek Kennel

Welcome to Crooked Creek Kennel, home of Josh and Jobie McNeal and their 45 Alaskan Huskies. Crooked Creek Kennel is located in Ester, Alaska. Growing up in Washington Josh had never been exposed to sled dogs until he went to school in Fairbanks, Alaska. Once he stepped on a sled he was instantly hooked. His senior year of college he worked for a professional musher and helped him train for his 17th and final Iditarod. That spring Josh graduated and moved to the Kenai Peninsula for his job.

In the spring of 2018, he bought a house in Kasilof at the base of the Caribou Hills, and Crooked Creek Kennel was born. In March of 2020, Josh and Jobie made the decision to move North for better training conditions and their jobs and ended up buying 20 beautiful acres in the hills just South of Fairbanks in Ester, Alaska. His first year racing the team ran non-competitively in the Tustemena 200 (14th place), and the Kobuk 440 (9th place). In the winter of 2020, the team went to the lower 48 and raced in the Idaho Sled Dog Challenge, and the UP 200. In 2021 while navigating the Covid Pandemic, Josh ran in the Willow 300 (11th place), and the modified Iditarod course and finished in 28th over-all, 2nd place rookie. For Josh, there is no better feeling than being in the middle of nowhere where it is just him and his dogs traveling through some of the most beautiful and rugged country in the world. He looks forward to racing in the coming years and meeting so many incredible people. Thank you for your support, and mush on!

Josh, age 29 was born and raised in a small logging community of Amboy, Washington on the foothills of Mt. St Helens in Southwest Washington. Growing up he was an avid outdoorsman and participated in football, wrestling, track, and baseball. He spent his summers working on local farms hauling hay and cutting firewood. When he turned 16, he started spending his summers in Kenai, Alaska working at a fishing lodge on the Kenai River. The day after graduating from La Center High school he moved fulltime to Alaska. For the next 4 years he attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks where he graduated in 2017 with a B.S. in Petroleum Engineering. During his tenure in college is where he found his love for mushing.

Jobie McNeal age 28, was born and raised in Coon Rapids Minnesota. Growing up she was a competitive cheerleader & gymnast. She spent her weekends up north at the cabin, where she fell in love with fishing & the outdoors. When she turned 18, she moved to California for her first job as a flight attendant. That is how Jobie learned she had a knack for adventure. After traveling around the world with her friends, she brought her dad on a surprise fishing trip in Alaska for his birthday. While on that trip with her father (Harold Schuldt) she said she was going to live in Alaska someday. Fast forward three years, Jobie turned 21 and got hired on as a flight attendant with Alaska Airlines and was based in Anchorage. She then met Josh (before he owned any dogs) and the rest is history! When she’s not helping out aroundthe kennel Jobie enjoys traveling, reading books, and photography! Last winter while training dogs she realized howmuch she enjoys mushing, you may just see her signed up for races in the future!

THE RACE TEAM

Dolly

Lead Dog - 3 year old female; Athena x Pilot (Seavey). Dolly is quickly becom...

Zeus

Team Dog - 5 year old male out of Jenna x Crisp (Seavey). After almost being ...

Tiny

Lead Dog - 3 year old male (Jenna  x Yos) Tiny is our newest up and coming le...

Spider

Swing Dog - 3 year old male (Jenna  x Yos) Spider is an extremely sweet, but ...

Ruby

Leader Dog - 4 year old female Mara x Bison (Redington). Ruby has taken after...

Rooster

Team Dog - 3 year old male (Jenna  x Yos) Rooster is one of the biggest dogs ...

Reba

Swing Dog- 3 year old female; Athena x Pilot (Seavey). Reba has matured into ...

Raven

Swing Dog - 3 year old female (Jenna  x Yos), Raven is a small but mighty lea...

Patsie

Swing Dog - 3 year old female; Athena x Pilot (Seavey). Patsie is a ball of f...

Macgyver

Team Dog - 3 year old male (Jenna  x Yos). MacGyver is maturing into a nice t...

Lugnut

Team Dog - 2 Year old Male out of (Jenna x Carlos) Lugnut is quickly becoming...

Hazel

Swing Dog - 4 year old female Mara x Bison (Redington). Hazel is a spunky lit...

Fuse

Team Dog - 2 Year old Female out of (Jenna x Carlos)Fuse is an up and coming ...

Edith

Team Dog - 4 year old female Mara x Bison (Redington). Edith looks exactly li...

Earl

Team Dog - 4 year old male out of Mara x Bison (Redington). Brother of Alfred...

Dipstick

Team Dog - 2 Year old Male out of (Jenna x Carlos) Dipstick lives up to his n...

Clutch

Team Dog - 2 Year old female out of (Jenna x Carlos) 

Alfred

Team Dog - 4 year old male out of Mara x Bison (Redington). Alfred holds the ...

Batman

Team Dog - 3 year old male (Jenna  x Yos) Batman is showing a lot of promise ...

Axel

Team Dog - 2 Year old Male out of (Jenna x Carlos) Axel is a up and coming su...

Suka

Lead dog- 7 year old female. Suka has been my most consistent leader since st...

Mara

Lead dog - 7 year old female. One of my go to dogs as a leader. She has devel...

Kiska

Team Dog - 5 year old female. She finished the Iditarod with me as a 2 year o...

Hydra

Iditarod Competitor (Team dog) - 7 year old female, out of the famous Pilot. ...

Carlos

Team Dog - 8 year old male that I purchased from Mitch Seavey. 2x Iditarod fi...

Athena

Swing dog - 5 year old female out of Jenna x Crisp (Seavey). Athena is a spit...

Apollo

Lead Dog - 5 year old male out of Jenna x Crisp (Seavey). Finished Iditarod w...

Aphrodite

Swing dog - 5 year old female out of Jenna x Crisp (Seavey). Aphrodite is ver...

MEET ASHLEY

Ashley Dove

Dog handler

Ashley was born, raised and lived in Anchorage—until late 2019 when she made the big move to Fairbanks, AK in search of adventure. Prior to her life with dogs, she worked in the corporate world of retail so the last two years have been wild! In between wrestling dogs and puppies, she’s currently taking classes to pursue a future job in the Forestry industry. She has a goofy black lab named Gambino who has been very generous in sharing her with all these dogs!

Nathan Davis

Dog Handler

Nate grew up in southern Michigan in the village of Onsted and spent a lot of time at his family's cabin near Traverse City snowboarding and riding “snowmobiles”. He attended Ferris State University and graduated with a degree in Environmental Biology. His pursuit of a career in Ecology and sense of adventure eventually brought him to Alaska. Specifically the Kenai Peninsula, where he works on various wildlife and habitat conservation projects in the summer. Prior to moving to Alaska he secured housing in Kasilof with local dog musher Kristi Bulock who needed a live-in handler and later referred him to go learn from Iditarod champion Dean Osmar also in Kasilof. Nate has been hooked ever since and can’t get enough of the dogs, trails, and all the things that make life in Alaska great.

MEET NATHAN

MEET NATHAN

Nathan Davis

Dog Handler

Nate grew up in southern Michigan in the village of Onsted and spent a lot of time at his family's cabin near Traverse City snowboarding and riding “snowmobiles”. He attended Ferris State University and graduated with a degree in Environmental Biology. His pursuit of a career in Ecology and sense of adventure eventually brought him to Alaska. Specifically the Kenai Peninsula, where he works on various wildlife and habitat conservation projects in the summer. Prior to moving to Alaska he secured housing in Kasilof with local dog musher Kristi Bulock who needed a live-in handler and later referred him to go learn from Iditarod champion Dean Osmar also in Kasilof. Nate has been hooked ever since and can’t get enough of the dogs, trails, and all the things that make life in Alaska great.

THE PUPPIES

Saloon

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Sherriff

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Howdy

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Outlaw

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Whiskey

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Spur

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Horseshoe

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Hairpin

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Lasso

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!

Prairie

Puppy (Apollo x Ruby)- Born in July on the Mendenhall glacier!
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