Whitepaw's Arlut Spirit of Gold Dust ("Spirit") made his debut as Washington's mascot in 1999. He is the 10th Alaskan Malamute to have served as the Husky mascot. He leads the team out of the tunnel before every home football game and wanders the sidelines during the contest accompanied by trainer Kim Cross and several of Cross' children, who act as handlers. The previous mascots were Frosty I (1922-29), Frosty II (1930-36), Wasky (1946), Wasky II (1947-53), Ski (1954-57), Denali (1958), King Chinook (1959-68), Regent Denali (1969-80), Sundodger (1981-91), King Redoubt (1992-97) and Prince Redoubt (1998). The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity acquired the first dog, Frosty I, and acted as its handlers. In 1959, Harry Cross, a professor of law at the University, took over the dog handler duties with King Chinook. Chinook's first appearance was the Idaho game that season. Cross' son, Kim, watched the dog on the sidelines. |
