First of all, the percentage of dogs that die in the Iditarod is not nearly as much as the percentage of household pets that die everyday due to starvation, being hit by cars, neglect, etc. Out of the 52 million pet dogs in the United States, 6.2 million die every year due to the above mentioned causes. Thats 12 percent. Out of the 1088 dogs that started the 2009 Iditarod, 6 died. Thats only 0.6 percent.

The injuries that occur in the Iditarod are no different or worse than the injuries in any other major race. In the 2008 Boston marathon, paramedics treated over 900 runners in their medical tents. The injuries included: 3 heart attacks, dehydration, hyponatremia, hypothermia, sprained muscles, tendonitis, contusions, stress fractures, and much more. Any sporting event will show the same statistics – many injuries occur.

In 2009, 505 dogs (out of 1088) didn’t finish the race. That’s 46%. Just because 46% of the dogs don’t finish the race, doesn’t mean that all 46% dropped out due to injury or other causes. Out of the 505 dogs that didn’t finish the race, 256 were on teams that dropped out of the race all together. A large majority of the dogs are taken out of the race because the musher is stopping for their best interest. If a dog team is not strong enough to complete the race, a musher will drop out for the sake of the dogs. The dog musher’s primary concern is the health and safety of their dog team.

Average lifespan of a pet dog is about 12 years. Average lifespan of a sled dog is 14 years. This is proof that sled dogs are very well cared for throughout their life, and receive the best treatment possible. This is what allows them to have such a long lifespan.

You mentioned the use of a whip. Not many mushers use whips, but for those who do, the whip never comes in physical contact with a dog. The use of the whip is to create a noise which the dogs are trained to respond to, just like if a musher were to yell a command at the dog. The dogs are not afraid of the noise – the cracking noise the whip makes can be compared to the whistle a person uses to train hunting dogs.

A musher is not allowed to pass through a checkpoint until the dogs are checked over by the veterinarians. All of the vets along the race course are so skilled and well-trained that they can spot injuries by watching the way a dog acts. There are multiple vets at each checkpoint, so when a dog team pulls in, it doesn’t take more than a few minutes for the vets to completely check over the entire team.

Most mushers chain their dogs using a 10 to 12 foot chain, which gives the dogs a 112 square foot area to run in. The average dorm room size (for 2 people) is 228 square feet. Thats 114 square feet per person. A 112 square foot area provides plenty of room for a dog to run around in. Dog yards are also chained in to prevent animals such as wolves and bears from getting in.

Colonel Tom Classen was quoted in the comment, however, I have no idea why his opinion is qualified on the subject of dog mushing. Sure, he is a long time Alaskan resident, but he has no history with dog mushing or any sled dogs at all. He is an air force Colonel, not a veterinarian.

Mushers do not race the Iditarod for “fortune.” The cost to raise, train, and care for a competitive 16-dog Iditarod team for just ONE year is between 150 and 200 THOUSAND dollars. The winning prize in 2009 was $69 thousand. Mushing is a very expensive sport, and no dog musher makes a profit off of it.

Please don’t judge dog mushing until you can actually see sled dogs at work and see how much they love to do what they do. The “Sled Dog Action Coalition” that Margery Glickman mentioned is based out of Miami, Florida. I’m not sure how anyone from Miami can have any real knowledge about dog mushing.

Did you know that several Alaska citizens reported that Iditarod musher Ramy Brooks beat, kicked and slugged his dogs during the 2008 Iditarod? They reported that he beat his dogs with a ski pole and a chain. Brooks said he beat his dogs with a trail marker. The Iditarod discounted the citizen reports and only punished Ramy Brooks for what he admitted doing. It is inexcusable that they ignored the reports from people who saw what happened. This is another example of the Iditarod failure to care about the dogs.

THANKS!

craigslistsurfer@yahoo.com

Please visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website http://www.helpsleddogs.org and be sure to read the quotes on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm . All the material on the site is true and verifiable.

Iditarod dogs are simply not the invincible animals race officials portray. Here’s a short list of what happens to the dogs during the race: death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, broken bones, pneumonia, torn muscles and tendons, diarrhea, vomiting, hypothermia, fur loss, broken teeth, viral diseases, torn footpads, ruptured discs, sprains, anemia and lung damage.

How do sick animals run the 1,100 miles across frozen tundra and through icy waters? Veterinarians give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them going. Anemia tires the dogs but mushers force them to run mile after grueling mile.

At least 126 dogs have died in the Iditarod. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training.

On average, 53 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it across the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do cross, 81 percent have lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine said that 61 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod have ulcers versus zero percent pre-race.

Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40 years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:

“They’ve had the hell beaten out of them.” “You don’t just whisper into their ears, ‘OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.’ They understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission the same way elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it. And you know what? They are all lying.” -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno’s column.

Mushers believe in killing unwanted dogs, including puppies. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed to death. “Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don’t pull are dragged to death in harnesses…..” wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska’s Bush Blade Newspaper (March, 2000).

Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, “He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or dragging them to their death.”

The Iditarod is dog torture.

Margery Glickman
Sled Dog Action Coalition