Out of the dark, frozen vastness in this Arctic valley, a chorus of barks and howls trumpeted the return of Green Dog's oldest puppies on Tuesday afternoon. The dogsledding outfit had sent them on a training run in the polar night while its nearly 300 other dogs stayed behind. 

Karina Bernlow and her husband run Green Dog located half a dozen miles from the main village in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago so close to the North Pole that winter is shrouded in uninterrupted darkness.

The working dogs, younger puppies and new litters played in the lashing winds that shifted thigh-high snowdrifts. This mix of husky and Greenland dog — a breed known for taller legs, big paws and thick fur — is especially social and thrives in the cold, Bernlow said. They don’t even fear the rare occasion when a polar bear ambles past the yard.

What hurts them is when this lunar landscapes turns unusually warm, which is happening more often as much of the Arctic heats up several times faster than the rest of the world.

Last summer, some dogsledding tours had to be canceled so the dogs wouldn’t overheat. One of the tours leads to an ice cave and Bernlow, who’s been here for more than a decade, said they’re watching it disappear year after year.

“What we can do is teach our children to take care of the planet,” she said, as the puppies strained their chains to reach out to be petted.

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Text from APNews story, In Norway, sled dogs train and play in warming Arctic, by Giovanna Dell'Orto.

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