It's that time of year again, the Last Great Race, commonly known as the Iditarod. Personally, I love following the race and the travails of the mushers. We always watch the teams line up before heading on their journey to Nome. It's quite exciting to cheer on the howling dogs and their brave human counter parts.
What's funny is that there are quite a few animal lovers out there that can't stand the sport of sled dog racing. In my opinion these fears and concerns are sometimes misguided and not really based on seeing the dogs run.
Some of the common misconceptions I have heard:
1- The dogs are forced to run. Does any dog owner really feel they can force their dog to do anything?? And no, the dogs are never, ever beaten. Teams sometime do "quit" and the musher has no choice but to withdraw from the race.
2- The dogs health is compromised. Actually, this is one point where animal rights groups did help convince Iditarod officials to carefully monitor the dogs health. These days the dogs are checked over by vets continuously--but the humans are left to bleed, lack sleep & run with broken bones. Dogs are "dropped" from the race continuously, which actually upsets the dogs--they want to keep running! Plus, to keep their stamina up the dogs are fed amazing treats: like fresh steak and salmon.
3- Dogs sometimes die. Yes, it's an unfortunate truth. I think about 2 dogs die during the race each year. But put this in perspective--80 teams with 16 dogs each is 1,280 dogs!!! Professional human athletes die during training, or even the average Joe can have a heart attack when shoveling snow. Don't even get me started about dogs dying, because there are so many dogs dying globally each day--being eaten in China or beaten in other nations. Have you ever seen the emancipated dogs wandering around South America ?
4- The mushers do it for money. Ha. Even when mushers do win the bigger prizes, they barely ever even break even. The cost of feeding your team all year, fixing sleds & dog trucks, getting to competitions, entry fees and food drops all add up to quite a sum. Mushers are usually dreamers and dog lovers. They do it because it is an enchanting lifestyle and they love being around their dogs.
5- Sled dogs have a lousy life, tied to dog houses or transported in dog trucks. Well to honestly answer this one, you would have to ask the dogs. If dogs around the world were administered surveys-- would they say they prefer to get fat on the couch? Be homeless vagabonds? Or live in snow country as a sled dog?? I don't know. I do know these dogs love to run and they usually get to run every day, even in the summer.
We adopted a sled dog mix from the pound and her need to run is maddening! Even if some think it's wrong to breed these runners, I think it's wrong to breed cockapoodles or whatever those funny looking lap dogs are. When mushers do breed extra dogs, most folks are happy to take a good sled dog off their hands.
Lastly, I don't know how many people know that the "modern" Iditarod race (not the serum run) came about to encourage the dying tradition of dog mushing in Native villages. This is a sport that gives people pride. It is a solemn tradition that was threatened by the popularity of noisy, gas guzzling snowmobiles. If there is one thing that meshes well with the serenity of the wilderness, it is a sled dog team trotting through the snow, not its modern replacement the snowmachine...
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