*** Updated: Iditarod dog dies
Sad news, especially since I'd posted just a couple days ago a link to some spectacular photos from the storied sled dog race that is now underway in Alaska.
But it's also a reminder of how truly gruelling this competition is. Some, including PETA, are opposed to the event altogether, saying it amounts to animal cruelty. Others argue that this is what these dogs are bred to do and that they love the competition. The race usually sees one or two dogs die unexpectedly. This is the first in 2009.
It's not clear what happened to the sled dog in the team of North Pole musher Jeff Holt, a 48-year-old former teacher. The dog, 6 years old and named Victor, died between two checkpoints, according to officials, who will investigate the cause.
***UPDATE: A necropsy has turned up no obvious cause of death according to this 3/12/09 report in the Anchorage Daily News.
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About the Bloggers
Daily Breeze reporter Donna Littlejohn has shared her homes with a succession of wonderful, funny, and occasionally difficult canines -- Muffin, Fritz, Ellie, Mercy, Pilgrim and now Cowboy, an Australian shepherd-border collie, and Tess, a border collie. From strong-willed terriers to weirdly obsessed Australian shepherds, they've invaded her world with boundless energy, wet noses, muddy paws and soggy tennis balls. But they've really brought so much more than that -- like laughter and joy, some unexpected life lessons, and more than a few tears along the way.
E-mail Donna at donna.littlejohn@dailybreeze.com.
Josh Grossberg grew up with the usual array of animals: goldfish, dogs, hamsters, parakeets and turtles. He now owns the loudest dog in the South Bay(Video: Rocket the Dog) and is the least popular person on his block. He spends his free time in dog parks, pet shops and always has an extra plastic bag in his pocket just in case. He also has a cat.
E-mail Josh at josh.grossberg@dailybreeze.com.
Good comments, both of you.
By the way, 3Dogs, don't know if you followed the comments on my Tripod post, but the owner did post a reply to one of your queries -- since it's now in the archives, I wasn't sure if you'd seen it or not:
http://www.insidesocal.com/pets/2009/02/tripod.html
Sad to hear of the loss, sadder to learn that deaths are common in this race and there is an "average" death rate to be expected. As in all sports, we tend to take things higher, longer, faster and whatever else man can find to manipulate or tweak.
One thing to take from this is the simple satisfaction that we have evolved as a society to demand that there are veterinary professionals observing to ensure that rules and regulations are not ignored. There used to be so much more ugliness in all sports/entertainment that utilized animals - horse racing especially.
Rosie, those pads on the feet are used to protect the feet in icy conditions so that the pads are not cut and torn. They are easily obtainable for people who live in colder regions just for dog walking, I actually got a much different reaction from the photo believing it showed respect and concern for the dogs' health.
Humans are a weird lot, thankfully we have united forces to try and raise awareness with organizations devoted to the protection of all animals. Personally, I'd love to see the general public refuse all forms of sport and entertainment relying on animals. Even dog shows make me cringe after researching the genetic manipulations that have resulted in many of the specialty breeds that are so popular today.
Mutts rule, others drool.
I FEEL THAT SPORT IS TOO MUCH FOR THE DOGS....I FEEL SO SORRY FOR THE DOG OR DOGS THAT HAVE DIED FROM THIS STUPID RACE...LIKE I HAVE SAID IN MY OTHER COMMENTS THAT WE, HUMAN KIND, IS THE MOST EVIL LIVING THING ON EARTH.
WHAT CHOICE DO THESE DOGS HAVE? THEY CANT TALK TO YOU AND TELL YOU THAT THEY DONT WANT TO DO THIS RUN. THEY BASICALLY ARE FORCED TO DO IT....
COME ON PEOPLE LOOK AT THEIR FEET....
I THINK THESE MUSHERS NOT GOING TO STOP..THIS IS WHAT I CALL TORTURING ANIMALS....