For the dogs whose lives are put at risk every year on (and off) the Iditarod trail, it's welcome news that the race's future is in jeopardy. According to a consultant's secret report given to the event's board of directors, the Iditarod could fold, as support for both its competitors and sponsors is waning.
It's too late for at least 150 dogs, including Flash, who died in last year's race after apparently inhaling his own vomit, and Shilling, whose death was determined to have stemmed from "extensive pulmonary edema" _ excess fluid in his lungs.
But being run to death may be the "high point" in the life of dogs exploited in endurance races. When they're not pulling sleds, they exist in a world that's measured only by the length of a chain. Kept like inventory in muddy fields, row after row of tethered dogs bark, howl and run circles around dilapidated wooden "houses" or plastic barrels _ their only shelter from the elements. They live in a fetid stew of their own waste and have no opportunity to play or socialize with other dogs, much less be a valued member of a family.
Mushers want winners. Dogs who aren't inclined to run 100 miles a day are often discarded like defective equipment. As former Iditarod winner Joe Runyan put it, "The ones that are just not performers are going to have to be eliminated."
Another veteran musher, Zoya DeNure, recently came forward to allege that "hundreds on top of hundreds or more dogs" have been killed because they didn't make the cut. Musher Dave King recounted seeing "a several foot high mound of dead sled dogs, dumped at the end of season in the Fairbanks shelter."
Earlier this month, alarming accusations surfaced against musher John Baker and his brother, Iditarod board president Andy Baker. Former handler-turned-whistleblower Rick Townsend reportedly claims that John Baker killed dogs in fits of anger and that he has proof of his allegations.
A second whistleblower recently came forward with disturbing photographs and video footage that apparently show dying puppies and injured, sick adult dogs at a kennel reportedly owned by four-time Iditarod champion Dallas Seavey. According to the whistleblower, operators at the kennel allowed severely injured and ailing dogs to suffer _ and sometimes die _ without veterinary care. Many animals reportedly suffered from bloody diarrhea and vomiting and sustained puncture and bite wounds and torn ears. The whistleblower reported that handlers allegedly picked dogs up by the throat and threw them in order to "punish" them for fighting or not obeying commands.
Iditarod officials also revealed that Seavey was implicated in a doping scandal involving dogs he used for racing. During last year's race, several animals tested positive for the opioid pain reliever tramadol, which is prohibited.
The riveting documentary "Sled Dogs," by director Fern Levitt, has also thrown open the curtains on the ugly behind-the-scenes cruelty in the dog sledding industry. In chilling footage, obviously terrified dogs are dragged _ frantic and struggling _ by the neck. One trainer didn't even notice that one of her dogs was dead at the end of his chain until the film crew spotted him lying motionless in the snow.
Dogs are not disposable. Dogs are not machines. We are at a point in time when basic morality demands that we denounce the Iditarod. This deadly race must come to a stop.
