Nomad came to us from Alaska with his girlfriend Kansas. He is a sweet guy, but has a very independent personality. He is happiest when roaming around outside a little separate from the rest of the group. His buddies are Joey, Ookie, Titan, and Foam, but his true love is Kansas, over whom he can occasionally be protective.

            In his racing years, Nomad worked with a very competitive musher who competed in many Iditarods. Nomad was a distance runner who was able to step into a leader position when need be, but preferred to be mixed within the team. In the winter of 2018, he went on 20 mile runs and served in a team that did 2 mile tours.

 

Nomad helped out to create a first of a kind Canine Brain Atlas. For that his brain was imaged by magnetic resonance while he was asleep. This type of imaging is commonly in humans and allows to identify such alterations as brain tissue volume and connectivity as well as to identify neuropathology at the early stages. However until recently this technique was not utilized for the same purposes in dogs. Participation of Nomad and 9 other Vaika dogs allowed to build a comprehensive atlas of canine brain which from now on will serve as a reference standard for canine neurological research. Most likely more MR images will be taken while Nomad ages - it will help to better describe which alterations canine brain structure undergoes through aging.