Obituary: Chugach Marcellus Willis

For  those that knew and toured with him.

Obituary: Chugach Marcellus Willis 2005-2013
Chugach "Marcellus " a pure bred Siberian Husky passed this morning after a sudden illness. Born in Ohio , he was shipped to Seattle to join his family and upon collecting him from the airport he fearlessly burst out of his crate and the air cargo lady said, " he looks like he's going to be a lot of trouble". She was right....he was.

Full of energy and a true athlete, he loved to run, ski tour and mountain bike but hated water and many times had to be carried over small streams rather than cross. His mother Pam Willis, ran him every day and the two of them could be seen every morning running down the road with Pam hanging on as he pulled her along. Although a stunningly beautiful dog in his full coat, we came to dread his bi-annual shedding and he basically destroyed our truck and we would drive to the cabin in a fog of dog hair.

He loved cheese above everything else with elk-shit running a close second. Not a cuddly dog he was however affectionate when he wanted to be and loved to be part of the pack and would sit with his human brother Stewart Willis and his friends as they watched TV and played video games.

Although not a fighter nor aggressive with other dogs or humans, he was a born killer and turned our yard into a killing field where eventually no small mammal or bird dared tread. Like a cat he would leave his latest victim on the garage floor for his Mom to dispose of.

He spent the first few years of his life sleeping directly under my bed at night until he became too big to crawl under and then spent the rest of his life sleeping on his mat at the foot of our bed. His nightly routine was to jump up between us in bed, bury his nose in the covers and make "piggy noises" then jump down onto his mat. He did this every night and we always looked forward to that routine.

He was a marvelous dog, deeply loved and we will miss him.

Shit. I'm so sorry Chris -- I only met Chugach once, but loved hearing about him in your TRs.

Condolences to you all, Chris. Sorry for your loss. Enjoyed the TRs where he was featured.

I'm sorry to hear that.

I remember the time we made it to camp hours later then expected as we were looking for Chugach who ran away into the forest, only to find that he was at camp for hours eating other peoples hot dogs.

He was a tricky one and will be missed.

When Chugie was young, he was a rascally adventurer,
- on his first hut trip he bivied fearlessly (and joyfully) under the porch of the MMTA cabin
- gortex gloves were his favorite snacks
- he liked going home with strange women he met on the trail.

Sorry to hear about that, Chugach was a good dog.

Hugs to Pam and Stewie...

Bummer.
My heartfelt condolences, Chris. I know how much you loved that dog.

Maybe we can head up to Crystal with Stewart and have him sneak off and ignore your calls. Then while you search for hours for him he can bum a ride home and be there when you get back with a big shit-eating grin... just for old times sake