Charlie is a tad coarse for a Danish diplomat.
He sheds enough hair in a day to knit a sweater, drools when excited and bares his teeth when compatriots try to steal food.
But Charlie, a white and brown Greenlandic sled dog, may have done more over the past two weeks to ease Arctic relations between Canada and Denmark than any human diplomat since 1973 - when the two countries first fell into disagreement in this region over ownership of a rocky outcropping in the Nairn Strait called Hans Island.
A member of the Danish military's elite dog-sled team, Charlie - along with his 12 shaggy teammates and two ultra-fit human handlers - has mushed and panted alongside the Canadian Forces for the past three weeks as part of Operation Nunalivut, a Canadian sovereignty exercise based here in the northern-most settlement in the world.
While the dogs arrived as a symbol of High Arctic co-operation between Canada and Denmark, they left as the undisputed stars of the massive exercise, which wrapped up Monday with the arrival of dignitaries such as Chief of the Defence Staff General Walt Natynczyk, Defence Minister Peter MacKay and Premier of Nunavut Eva Aariak.
"Just beautiful dogs aren't they," cooed Gen. Natynczyk, as he succumbed to the pet-me-please pout of Charlie. "They are an impressive animal."
As if Canada's top general wasn't sufficiently smitten, Charlie rolled over for a belly rub. "Ha, would you look at that," said the battle-hardened general as he knelt down and began scratching.
The arrival of the Danes marks the first time the two countries have co-operated on a High Arctic operation, and a significant thawing in northern relations between the two nations.
Since 1973, Hans Island has been something of a fly in the diplomatic ointment, with Denmark and Canada both claiming ownership through flag-waving ministerial visits.
But the Danish admiral responsible for Greenland groaned when reporters brought up the topic during closing ceremonies of Operation Nunalivut on Monday.
"Have you seen Hans Island?" Rear Admiral Henrik Kudsk asked. "I'm one of the few people who have and I can tell you it's really not much. Naturally countries will have disagreements. But we are now in co-operation there."
The presence of the Danes also highlighted two vastly different approaches toward northern sovereignty operations.
While the Canadians spend untold millions shipping hundreds of soldiers and tonnes of supplies to three large northern military operations every year, the Danes largely leave control of Greenland up to the dogs.
"The sled is a very efficient, self-sufficient tool," he said. "It needs no gas, just food."
The admiral also noted that Denmark's military doesn't engage its Inuit population as much as Canada does with its unique Rangers program. "That's something we have learned here," he said. "We can definitely work on that when we get home."
The two Danish soldiers who accompany each 14-dog patrol attain the level of rock stars in that country. Each one undergoes rigorous psychological analysis before they are approved for the team, including intense tests of their reaction to extreme cold and hunger.
"If a guy is just a little off, he'll break," said Sergeant Jens Bonde, a former SIRIUS member and current liaison.
That's not surprising, considering the rigours of the job: two four-month tours of northern Greenland every year, each totalling more than 3,000 kilometres. The team moves up to 60 kilometres a day. They burn upward of 7,000 calories a day as they follow the dogs by cross-country ski.
"They eat a lot of chocolate," Adm. Kudsk said. "And they are in tremendous condition."
That fact wasn't lost on a few female Canadian soldiers as they swooned over the 6-foot-5, blond Danes.
"I like this international co-operation thing," said one. "I wonder if they have some kind of exchange program."