IDITAROD 2008 - Off They Go!!

Every year we sincerely enjoy watching the Iditarod mushers launch off for their adventure into the great Alaskan Wilderness. This year an unprecedented amount of mushers have begun the race: 96 teams. Also I noticed an increase in the amount of Europeans competing with representatives from Germany, England, Norway, Belgium and Italy.
Of course with the excitement of Iditarod comes the complaints of the naysayers. I just did a quick Google search to read up on some of the doomsayers impressions of this sport and what I found was utterly amazing. Comments like all mushers beat their dogs, the dogs are dragged to their death and even made into mittens!! Incredible stuff.
I can only imagine that the Iditarod critics have never seen the race in person. The crazy way the dogs leap with joy to begin running, the obsessive veterinary care, or the HUGE public outcry when a musher gets caught hurting a dog. Maybe sled dogging years ago was a more brutal sport, but these days great care is taken to keep it humane.
Off the top of my head, here are just a few of the positives this race brings:
1- Interest in an outdoor sport, with minimal environmental impact. Just come to Alaska and see how many people love to "tear shit up" on ATV's and snowmachines and you'll be begging for more dog teams.
2- History and tradition. The Iditarod keeps the public interested and financially supporting an ancient arctic tradition. It is a great experience for the youths in small villages with a proud history.
3- The only gender and age neutral sport I know of. The humans are incredible athletes when they run Iditarod, and they literally run. Many mushers spend most of the race running behind or in front of the sleds to motivate the dogs. And I have never seen a more varied pool of human athletes, where 18 year old boys compete in the same competition as 62 year old women and vice versa!
4- Mushers are dog lovers and some dogs just love to run. I'm sorry, but why is keeping an obese cock-a-poodle on a couch more humane than running a dog through the snow?

I just wish the energies of the anti-sled dog people could be used for better things. So many nations treat dogs much worse that the Unites States or so many dogs are euthanized daily in this country. Even worse, what about the treatment of pigs, waiting to become bacon? They are about as smart as dogs, but not many people care about the poor pig.

Dog Blog

I'm watching my sleepy sled dog Tinga, as she lies on her warm bed. She comes from the local pound, rescued from imminent death. Although one would think the Alaskan dog pounds are full of over bred huskies, they're not. The most common abandoned pooch here is some type of lab mix, usually the black ones. Believe it or not they only have room to stay at the pound for a week, then the unmentionable happens. It is a gruesome truth that they transport hundreds of dogs to the dump each year after they are euthanized.
I bring up this sad fact to put some perspective on the first Iditarod dog dying today. A husky from a sweet woman's kennel perished without warning (while resting). She immediately dropped out of the race to grieve. This particular musher is a fanatic about her dog's care and has a website dedicated to each dog's progress. I feel so badly for her, and know she must be beating herself up over it. Nevertheless, this dog lived a good life full of love, running and fun.

We might still make our beloved Tinga into a sled dog after all. She does love to run--but what to do about those sensitive paws? The cold does bother her toes. She's mastered the art of "three legged pooping" so one of her sensitive paws doesn't have to touch the cold snow. Booties would fix that....