The Iditarod’s Trail of Dog Deaths

The 37th annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, a grueling 1,150-mile expedition from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, begins on March 7. Approximately 1,500 dogs will start the race, but, if the past is any indication, many of them won’t finish—a few won’t even survive. At least one or two dogs die during the race each year.

The dogs are treated like snowmobiles with fur and pushed way beyond their limits. Even the most energetic dogs don’t want to run more than 100 miles a day through tough terrain in biting winds, blinding snowstorms, and subzero temperatures for 10 to 12 days straight. Their feet become bruised and bloodied and many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, or suffer from diarrhea, dehydration, pneumonia, intestinal viruses, gastric ulcers, hypothermia, or hyperthermia.

But the dogs have no choice but to run; they’re tethered together and mushers are allowed to whip them. Dogs who become too weak or sick to keep up are dragged along, sometimes flipping on their backs.

Although the exact death toll is unknown since no one kept track in the early years, it’s estimated that more than 136 dogs have perished since the race began in 1973. Dogs have even been gouged by a sled, strangled in towlines, and hit by snow machines.

Because so many dogs have died, people have come to expect and even accept the deaths as a routine part of the race. Each year, many newscasters calmly report that “the first dog” has died in the Iditarod. A 7-year-old dog named Zaster—who was being treated for symptoms of pneumonia—was “the first dog” to die in the 2008 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Two days after Zaster died, a snowmachiner ran into a musher’s team, killing a 3-year-old dog named Lorne. Soon after, Iditarod officials announced that a 4-year-old dog named Cargo had died on the trail. A pathologist conducted a necropsy to determine the cause of his death, but the results were inconclusive.

Perhaps they’re the “lucky” ones. The surviving dogs continue to suffer well after the races end. Most are kept in cramped kennels or on short chains. They don’t get to retire in comfort. In 2002, researchers at Oklahoma State University examined the airways of 59 dogs 24 to 48 hours after they completed the Iditarod and found that 81 percent of them had abnormal accumulations of mucous or cellular debris in their lower airways. The damage was classified as moderate to severe in nearly half the dogs.

Other dogs suffer without ever even participating in the race. Thousands of dogs are bred for the Iditarod and those who aren’t fast enough to race are usually killed in cruel ways. One musher equated killing dogs who don’t make the grade to weeding a garden.

The Iditarod is so inhumane and exploitative that it has earned the scorn of not only animal protection organizations like PETA, HSUS, and the Sled Dog Action Committee, as well as caring individuals worldwide, but also prominent sports columnists, including USA Today sportswriter Jon Saraceno, who has dubbed the race the “Ihurtadog.”

The “Ihurtadog” is a tourist event. You can help these dogs simply by not going to Alaska, and by letting the race sponsors know that you won’t support their businesses as long as they support cruelty to animals. See the Sled Dog Action Coalition’s Web site for a complete list of sponsors and more information on what you can do to help.

We must not let the Iditarod continue another year. As sports columnist Jeff Jacoby has pointed out, it is true “March madness.”

Read more: animal welfare, iditarod, sled dog, sled dogs

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Georgia A.

12:39PM PDT on May 6, 2012

Well damn! I didn't know anything at all about this race and always thought it was just a nice little race the guys ran with their pets through the snow. I am so horrified. I always thought sled dogs were highly regarded and well taken care of. I will never look at them the same way again.

send a green star

Rosanne G.

7:45AM PST on Feb 3, 2011

I compare this race to an abortion. No one asks the baby, & certainly no one cares about the dogs. It's all about the owner, whether it be of dogs or another's body. This is pathetic abuse allowed by money hungry & selfish people. There are plenty of reasons to stop this race & those who work toward that goal should be applauded. I shudder to think of these beautiful animals being pushed to the limits for the sake of the Almighty dollar. When will we ever learn that all God's creatures, great & small do not deserve to be abused, especially for entertainment? These dogs should be trained to rescue & treated with the utmost respect for their endurance, not endurance-tested beyond normal limits at the expense of their lives. Once again Alaska is responsible for ANIMAL ABUSE. May a pack of wolves descend upon the owners & sled (slave) drivers. That is if there are any wolves left.

Lorna S.

11:59AM PST on Feb 1, 2011

Very sad!

Anonymous A.

6:49AM PDT on May 5, 2009

I am horrified as humans kill, abuse animals no matter what fashion it maybe. One of the Ten Commandments is not to kill. I just do not understand how people can go ahead kill, abuse etc. animals, then maybe even go to church and pray, pray for what they have done forgiveness. I can't forgive them or anyone that kills helpless, unaware animals. I became an on line activist, signing many pledges. I Hope more people will join me in signing pledges. Humane soceity etc. Petition site is one good site. . I have signed a petition to stop seal slaughter and VICTORY is here finally.

julie j.

5:13PM PDT on May 4, 2009

I think how those beautiful dogs are treated is digusting, for those of you who think its ok for them to race, ask yourself something, Who asked the Dogs? Its cruel and intolerable and it should be banned NOW.

Claudia W.

9:47PM PDT on Apr 11, 2009

What is the freakin purpose of these races anyway? In the past, it was the way to get around in the wilderness, perhaps somewhat justifying it. But now? We have other means to get from one point to the other. Humans make the decision to run this race, and thats okay, but the dogs have no choice in the matter..and that is what I have a problem with.

Lynne K.

12:54AM PDT on Mar 23, 2009

Iditarod Race Deaths Cause Concern
Posted Mar 22, 2009 2:03 AM By RACHEL D'ORO (AP)
WASILLA, Alaska (March 21) - Conditions were fine last Sunday afternoon, as rookie Iditarod musher Lou Packer left a checkpoint halfway through the grueling wilderness race.
What happened next has drawn renewed attention to animal rights advocates' claim that the more than 1,100-mile trek through Alaska is cruel to the dogs who lead competitors' sleds.
One of the few mushers traveling alone at the time, Packer ran smack into a blizzard.
Race officials sent out search parties to look for Packer and two other struggling teams, and a pilot spotted the doctor and his dogs. He was rescued more than a day after he set out - but not before he had lost two of his 15 animals.
Advocates say at least 146 dogs have died in the Iditarod since it began in 1973. Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George said he could not find statistics of the total number of dog deaths, though there have been occasional spikes, such as 1985 when a dozen dogs perished in a blizzard.
Packer's dogs were among five animals that have died in this year's race, with about a dozen teams still on the trail on Saturday. At least one Iditarod dog typically perishes in the race, often from gastric ulcers that develop on the trail. Three dogs died last year.
"Racing dogs to their death is indefensible, yet the death toll rises year after year and the race continues with business as usual," she said.
(google search for full article)

Cynthia E.

6:47AM PDT on Mar 18, 2009

It's eery and disgusting how similar semantics were used to justify slavery hold true for this. So...if slave owners treated their slaves well, does that make slavery ok?? Slavery was also a "tradition" way back when. Tradition does NOT justify anything. This is just an event for human "entertainment". Pure frivolity at the expense of a sentient non-human.

Past Member .

10:37PM PDT on Mar 17, 2009

Treat others the way you want to be treated.

Cynthia M.

11:15AM PDT on Mar 17, 2009

This is animal cruelty. These dogs have no choice ! If these men want to do it, let them do it alone. Please stop this!