There’s no better way to promote our purebred dogs than by connecting with people one-on-one, but it’s special when a entire community does it. A few years ago, a public art project celebrated the bond between Northern Illinois University and the DeKalb/Sycamore communities by having businesses, organizations, clubs and individuals paint over fifty fiberglass Siberian Huskies, the Husky being the university’s mascot. Five year old, “Mission,” is the school’s most recent Husky-mascot.

Our story, however, has to do with Mission’s other activity. He is not the first mascot to have been a show dog, but it’s becoming increasingly uncommon among current mascots. His first show was at a United Kennel Club event in which he was awarded Best of Breed. Mission went on to win Reserve Best in Show. That done, it was time to switch hats and be a mascot again (piece of cake to any well socialized, well trained dog).

To train for the job, Mission worked with the ROTC cadets who would eventually handle him during events. They exposed him to different campus areas to get him accustomed to crowds and different noises. Mission also learned a modified pushup because ROTC cadets perform pushups when a touchdown is scored at Huskie Stadium, the hope being that Mission could join them. Mission’s pushup resembled the yoga position, “downward facing dog.”

Meet “Mission” below:

Mission Accomplished: NIU’s new mascot from NIU Alumni Association on Vimeo.