Deke (co-owner and founder) started the kennel (Nautique Sky Kennel) in 2014. He had previous mushing experience in Colorado and Sweden before starting his own kennel, and since then has been breeding and raising his own dogs while competitively mushing in long-distance dog sled races such as the Iditarod, Yukon Quest, Copper Basin, and Two Rivers dog sled races. He won the Leonard Seppala Humanitarian Award for exemplary dog care in the 2023 Iditarod. He enjoys sharing his unique lifestyle with guests, sharing the trail with his best friends, and especially paying all of the bills that come with owning a 40+-dog kennel!

Jonah (co-owner and founder) got into mushing when he moved from Wisconsin to Fairbanks in 2021. Jonah has been mushing together with Deke and his dogs since 2022, doing training runs, tours, and long-distance races like the Copper Basin and Yukon Quest. Jonah won the Red Lantern and Sportsmanship Award in the 2024 Yukon Quest Alaska 300 and the Sportsmanship Award in the 2025 Yukon Quest Alaska 550. He especially enjoys sharing the goofy personalities of each individual dog with guests and cleaning the yard of doggie turds when the Northern Lights are out.

Nolan is Deke’s son and has been a major part of the kennel since he was born. He keeps things loose and reminds us all that the point is to HAVE FUN! He is the two-time defending champion of the Two Rivers Fun-ale kid dog sled race. He enjoys mushing small teams in the spring in his Charmander Pokemon costume and raising his litter of pups (the Chicago Bulls litter) into the next group of top-tier race dogs!