12 huskies, 3 rabbits and a Shih Tzu — and 1 Labrador City family taking them to safety

When Friday's order to evacuate Labrador City due to the nearby fire came down, Charlie Russell and his family had a host of furry friends with them, including 12 huskies, seven of them puppies.

Russell said getting the dogs out took some doing: shortly after the order was given, he gassed up, which took an hour, and then headed to the kennel to get the dogs, which took another hour.

"It wasn't too bad because I had the sleds, I had the cages all ready. I put two dogs in each cage, two big ones, and I put the mother in the backseat with the seven pups. I had dog hair everywhere. And not only that, we had three rabbits and the Shih Tzu. We were just like the [Beverly] Hillbillies," Russell said. 

Then the family got on the road: Russell, his wife, son, daughter, son-in-law and four grandkids, including 20-month-old triplets. They arrived in Churchill Falls at 2:30 a.m. AT on Saturday, and gassing up took another four hours, the family and their animals are now safe in Happy Valley-Goose Bay.

Russell owned sled dogs for 28 years, gave them up, but recently got them back again because his grandson, Charlie Jr., wanted a dog team.

For Russell, his dogs are more than pets; they're part of his lifestyle. 

"It is a lot of work, but most mushers don't call it work. We call it recreation or fun. It's relaxing when I leave work in the evening, it's very relaxing to go over to the kennel and after all day working and spend time with dogs and do stuff and feed them up and clean up," Russell said. 

Russell first got dogs 31 years ago when he moved to Labrador City.

"I'm a dog lover. I'm a musher, but I'm a dog lover," he said. "I grew up around dogs. Most of my family had dogs all their lives. William's Harbour is my family name and they were all big dog sled drivers. I grew up with dogs, my dad had dogs, and I always wanted dogs."

Russell is passing his love of dogs down the family tree: Charlie Jr. loves to play with them. 

"They're walking now. One named Princess. One is Max. One is Cookie. One's Oreo. That's Cutie Pie," said Charlie Jr., pointing out the dogs in their temporary Happy Valley-Goose Bay home.

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