Iditarod - The Worst Case Of Animal Cruelty In The US

Dear Iditarod Supporter:

For the dogs, the Iditarod dog sled race is a bottomless pit of suffering. Please end your organization's support of this event. Imagine the suffering dogs endure while racing 1,000 miles in the Iditarod with wind-chill factors as low as minus 50 °F, battered by hurricane force winds, over slippery ice, down steep gorges with drops of hundreds of feet, and through icy water with little or no rest. At least 142 dogs have died in the Iditarod, including two dogs on a doctor's team who froze to death in the brutally cold winds. What happens to dogs during the race includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains.

According to the Jan-Feb 2010 Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, dogs running in the Iditarod have substantially decreased numbers of antibodies in their systems. Without an adequate number of antibodies, a dog can't fight off infections.

The dogs are even at terrible risk while resting on straw that's been provided by the Iditarod. An Iditarod musher reported that foxtails are sometimes found in the straw. When foxtail grass drys out and becomes straw, the seed detaches easily and sticks to a dog's fur. Foxtail seeds enter a dog's body through the skin, nose, ears, paws, and eyes.  And once they enter, they're like a barbed fishhook. A foxtail can go anywhere inside a dog. They have been found inside the brain, anal glands, eyes, ears, jowls, feet, spinal cord and lungs. Foxtail seeds can be life-threatening to dogs.

Dog beatings and whippings are common. During the 2007 Iditarod, eyewitnesses reported that musher Ramy Brooks kicked, punched and beat his dogs with a ski pole and a chain. Jon Saraceno wrote in his 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."

During the race, veterinarians do not give the dogs physical exams at every checkpoint. Mushers speed through many checkpoints, so the dogs get the briefest visual checks, if that. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running. The Iditarod's chief veterinarian, Stu Nelson, is an employee of the Iditarod Trail Committee. They are the ones who sign his paycheck. So, do you expect that he's going to say anything negative about the Iditarod?

During training runs, Iditarod dogs have been killed by moose, snowmachines, and various motor vehicles, including a semi tractor and an ATV. They have died from drowning, heart attacks and being strangled in harnesses. Dogs have also been injured while training. They have been gashed, quilled by porcupines, bitten in dog fights, and had broken bones, and torn muscles and tendons. Most dog deaths and injuries during training aren't even reported.

Example of a FEW REPORT cases for your review:
11 sled dogs, 11 rabbits neglected

Eagle River, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/10660/AK/US/

 

Sled dog killed with snow hook

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7069/AK/US/

 

Sled dog kicked to death during Iditirod

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7082/AK/US/

 

Sled dog, chickens die of thirst

Fairbanks, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/16377/AK/US/

 

Chained sled dogs stabbed, two die

Russian Mission, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/15229/AK/US/

 

Sled dog neglect, 35 seized

Palmer, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/14234/AK/US/

 

Sled dog neglect - 21 seized, one found dead

Wasilla, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/11318/AK/US/

 

Sled dogs abused

Golovin, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/11064/AK/US/

 

Sled dog stabbed, children suspected

Teller, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/2970/AK/US/

 

11 sled dogs abandoned and neglected

Kasilof, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/4230/AK/US/

 

18 sled dogs shot and killed

Manley, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/4786/AK/US/

 

Sled dog death - drowned during Iditarod

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7079/AK/US/

 

Sled dog death - regurgitated food during race

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7077/AK/US/

 

Sled dog death during Iditarod - gastric ulcers

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7078/AK/US/

 

Sled dog death after running 650 mile race

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7076/AK/US/

 

Sled dog dies - raced over 1000 miles

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7072/AK/US/

 

Sled dog dies - raced through frozen slush

Anchorage, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/7071/AK/US/

 

Sled dog neglect - 28 seized

Mat-Su, AK (US)

http://www.pet-abuse.com/cases/2817/AK/US/


Please end your organization's association with this horrific race.

Sincerely,