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A Kid's Thoughts
Abuse
in Iditarod kennels
What the Alaska SPCA says
Permanent
chaining of dogs is cruel, dangerous and makes dogs aggressive
Killing or culling unwanted dogs
Some culled Iditarod dogs are skinned for fur
Mushers charged with animal cruelty
and reckless neglect
Chained dogs get little attention and exercise
Chained dogs go "mad" or become "kennel
crazy"
Adequate dog care is too costly
Big Kennels Big Suffering
Mushers can't bond with all their dogs
Many dogs have no names
Dogs in remote areas don't get veterinary care
Sick and injured dogs often get no veterinary care
Amputation (cutting) of canine teeth in sled dogs
Dogs don't get fresh water every day
Horrific conditions in Iditarod
champion's kennel
Few sled dogs are
adopted
Iditarod kennels compared to recreational musher
kennels
Dogs forced to whelp
outside in frigid weather
Dogs fed expired food and rotting meat
Volcanic
ash from Mount Redoubt eruptions dangerous for dogs
Yukon River flooding obliterates
dog kennels
What the Alaska SPCA says
Alaska SPCA has criticized the Iditarod and has
condemned how mushers treat their dogs:
"The race should not be a race! The original serum run was done in
relays. It is what happens "BEHIND THE SCENES" during the rest
of the year that needs to be told.... The breeding, culling [killing]
and poor treatment needs to be exposed."
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, March
4, 2002
- Ethel D. Christensen, is the founder of the Alaska SPCA. She recently
retired as its Executive Director
Alaska SPCA director says Iditarod magnifies cruelties:
Margery Glickman: "The
dogs who can't meet the standard are killed."
Rob Moore: "They're just killed or possibly
abandoned."
Margery Glickman: "From what I understand,
normally the dogs are simply killed with a shot to the head or they're
bludgeoned or even drowned. I've heard that the puppies, especially, are
easy to drown. The mushers will tie a rope to their neck and a rock and
throw them in the river. But they bred large numbers of dogs just to get
a handful of good one. There was a TV documentary where a famous Iditarod
musher said that she bred 300 dogs to get five good racers, and this is
typical."
Rob Moore: "300 to get five racers."
Margery Glickman: "Yes."
Rob Moore: "Ethel, you work with the SPCA and I
want you to comment on this and this incredible surplus of dogs and what
happens to these dogs and the kinds of calls that you get."
Ethel Christensen: "Well, first of all Rob, let
me say that I found the Alaska SPCA in 1966. At that time, I was an aviation
pilot weather forecaster briefer, international airport, and I traveled
around Alaska a lot.
And what Margery is saying is correct. And, unfortunately it's been magnified.
The Iditarod has done nothing but magnify that and we get all sort of
calls."
- Ethel Christensen is the founder of the Alaska SPCA. She recently retired
as its Executive Director.
- Rob Moore hosts Animal Voices, a radio show in Toronto, Canada.
- Margery Glickman is the director of the Sled Dog Action Coalition
- This interview was done on February 28, 2006
Permanent chaining of dogs is cruel, dangerous
and makes dogs aggressive
Keeping
dogs continuously chained is massive psychological cruelty:
[Iditarod
dogs are tethered on chains as short as four feet. Each dog is kept in
one spot and cannot interact normally with other dogs. Many kennels have
more than 100 dogs and some have more than 200 dogs. In his introduction
to the book Father of the Iditarod, Joe Redington,
co-founder of the race, admitted that by 1990 he had 527 dogs living in
his kennel.]
"Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive
on interaction with human beings and other animals. A dog kept chained
in one spot for hours, days, months or even years suffers immense psychological
damage. An otherwise friendly and docile dog, when kept continuously changed,
becomes neurotic, unhappy, anxious and often aggressive."
- King 5 Television, Seattle, December, 2002, website
"Canada's best-known expert on dog behaviour says
keeping a dog on a short chain its whole life and depriving it of social
interaction is as cruel as depriving a two-year-old child of the same
basic necessities.
Dr. Stanley Coren, a University of B.C. psychology professor, was commenting
on a case in Victoria, where the SPCA seized an 11-month-old rottweiler
from a house at 510 Raynor Ave. after it was alleged that the dog spent
her entire life on the end of a 2.5-metre chain. [From the Sled Dog Action
Coalition: A 2.5 metre chain is 8.202 feet. Iditarod dogs are kept on
chains 4 to 5 feet long.]
It was the first time in the B.C. SPCA's history that the society seized
an animal on grounds of psychological, rather than physical, abuse."
"I think the easiest way to think about what's going on is to remember
that a dog has the mind of a two-year-old human child," Coren said. "If
someone took a two-year-old child and tied him to his bed area, forced
him to eat near his feces, allowed him to get cold and in the way of drafts,
and didn't give him any social support, I think we would agree that everyone
in the world would claim that this was massive cruelty.
That's the mind you're dealing with when you're dealing with a dog. The
same kind of things that will damage that two-year-old's mind will damage
a dog's mind."
-
Nicholas Read, Vancouver Sun, February 28, 2002
"Kim Schoolcraft, director of the Galveston County
Animal Control division of the health district, said a dog’s nature was
to be part of a pack or family.
'When a dog is isolated every day, for extended periods, it’s going to
take a psychic toll, just like it would on a human being,” Schoolcraft
said.'"
- Scott Williams, The Galveston County Daily News, October 13,
2006
"Chaining them drives them insane, basically, and they don't know how
to behave."
- Ellie Choate, Doña Ana County animal control supervisor
- Renée Ruelas-Venegas and Jason Gibbs, Las Cruces Sun-News, December
16, 2006
Iditarod kennels are canine concentration camps or madhouses for dogs:
"These social animals, bred to run, spend nearly
all of their time confined to a 5-foot chain to keep them near their small
doghouse, food bowl, water dish and, most unnatural for a dog, their own
excretions. Some veterinarians contend, quite reasonably, that chaining
a dog leads to aggression and stress and, in fact, it appears that sled
dogs suffer from a high rate of stomach ulcers brought on, some believe,
by their living conditions. To some, 120 small identical doghouses, each
with a restless howling dog chained next to it, may look like a "summer
camp," but it's not hard to picture it as a canine concentration camp
or a madhouse for dogs."
- John M. Crisp, Scripps Howard News Service, August 20, 2007
Tethered
dogs are often unsocialized:
"[Terry]
Erhart, 27, walks up to a black sled dog cowering against the fence. The
dog's stance is not unusual. Nearly all Iditarod dogs are raised and trained
in bush Alaska. They grow up knowing few people and open landscape."
- Terry Erhart was an inmate Hiland Mountain Correctional
Center who took care of dogs dropped from the Iditarod.
- Andrew Perala, Anchorage Daily News, March 21, 1987
"A number of their dogs were terrified of humans,
even in their later years. You had to grab their chain and pull them in
to you, harness them and then walk them to the team and snap them in.
They walked as far away from you as they could, with their tails tucked,
and clung to the ground when you hooked them into harness. They just wanted
you to get away from them. A lot of sled dogs are like this, sadly."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Dogs damage teeth chewing on chains:
"I've
seen dogs at numerous kennels that have teeth damage from chewing on their
chains."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel
employee who now rescues and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
The necks of chained dogs become raw and infected:
"In many cases, the necks of chained dogs
become raw and covered with sores, the result of improperly fitted collars,
and the dog's constant yanking and straining to escape confinement."
Sebastian County Humane Society, Fort Smith, AR, December, 2002, website
Tethering makes dogs easy targets for attacks by other animals, etc:
"A chained animal may suffer...stinging
bites from insects, and, in the worst cases attacks by other animals."
- King 5 Television, Seattle, December, 2002, website
"It jeopardizes the dog's welfare by exposure
to attacks, accidents, direct and indirect poisoning, sick animals, etc."
- Dennis Fetko, Ph.D. December, 2002, Dr. Dog website
- Dr. Fetko is and expert in animal training and behavior
Dogs on chains are easy marks for wolves, foxes, bears, coyotes and musk
oxen:
"'We had wolves actually killing dogs in lots,'
[William "Middy"] Johnson told me a few days before the race began.
'"I know there were two pups missing and two other dogs were taken
right in the lots,' he said."
- Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily New - The Sled Blog, March 14,
2010
"A pack of wolves killed about a half-dozen
sled dogs from three teams in Marshall on Wednesday night before residents
of the Yukon River village chased them out of town, according to village
officials and Alaska State Troopers."
"Dogs tied up on an 18-inch chain are simply
too good to pass up, he [Alaska State Trooper Sgt. Matt Dobson] said.
'These wolves have more than enough to eat,' he [Dobson] said. 'It's just
an easy treat for them."
- James Halpin, Anchorage Daily News, October 26, 2007
Follow-up: One the wolves tested positive for rabies:
"A wolf killed [by humans] during an attack on sled
dogs in the Yukon River village of Marshall last week has tested positive
for rabies, and state officials Wednesday night said unvaccinated dogs
in the village should be euthanized.
The wolf was part of a pack that killed a half-dozen dogs the night of
Oct. 24 before villagers chased them out, killing the one wolf and wounding
others. Tests returned late Wednesday showed that animal had rabies, and
the state's wildlife veterinarian said it's possible other wolves in the
pack also have the disease. Dogs could have been infected as well."
- Don Hunter, Anchorage Daily News, November 1, 2007
"I remember the time a grizzly bear came into the
dog yard, which is situated with view of our house. It is not an everyday
event for sure, but it does occur almost every summer at our home in Denali."
"The dog closest to the bear was Hickory, and he was standing on his back
legs at the forward end of his chain...." "Before the incident was over,
I ended up having to shoot that grizzly bear who went down less than ten
feet away from by great lead dog."
- King, Jeff. Cold Hands Warm Heart, Husky Homestead Press,
2008
"The roughly 700-pound animal charged,
goring Snoopy, a prized lead dog. Harris grabbed his .30-06 rifle and
ran toward the yard in time to see the musk ox bull turn on a second dog
and charge.
That dog was able to dodge away, but the musk ox plowed through its metal
post and sent it flying, freeing the dog. When the musk ox turned and
charged a third dog, Harris shot and brought the animal to the ground."
Snoopy had been stuck in the belly during the attack...."
- James Halpin and Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News, August 28,
2008
"We've actually had dogs that were actually killed by musk ox."
- Alaska Wildlife Trooper Eric Lorring was quoted.
- James Halpin and Lisa Demer, Anchorage Daily News, August 28,
2008
"A Kenai Peninsula man shot and killed a brown
bear with a shotgun slug while the young boar threatened a chained dog,
according to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist."
- Anchorage Daily News, May 15, 2007
"'A dog on a chain is an easy mark,' [Howard]
Golden said. He said the size of the dogs attacked suggests wolves, not
coyotes, are responsible. Coyotes weigh 40 to 50 pounds. An adult wolf
typically weighs 85 to 115 pounds."
- Howard Golden is an Alaska state Fish and Game biologist
- Ben Spiess, Anchorage Daily News, April 6, 2003
"But when he looked out, he saw an arctic fox
pulling dog-food pans to the side of the yard and licking them out. [Randy]
Romenesko said he shooed the fox away with a shovel, but it came back.
It tried stealing a pan from one of his chained sled dogs, which lunged
at the fox and missed."
"'I kind of threw the shovel at him. But he didn't run off, he ran toward
me.'
'Then I realized I was no longer armed,' he said. He ran in the house,
grabbed his .22-caliber rifle, waited for a clean shot and dispatched
the fox.
It had behaved so oddly that he contacted local authorities, who shipped
the fox's head to the state virology lab in Fairbanks. The results: positive
for rabies".
- Steve Rinehart, Anchorage Daily News, March 20, 1997
Dogs easily made sick from eating animal feces and bird droppings:
"Dogs are scavengers by nature, taking treats
where they can find them. It's impossible to explain to a dog that eating
a particular item could cause injury or death. As a result, it has become
a human responsibility to protect dogs from foraging instincts that might
have been useful in the wild but can be deadly to companion dogs.
Risky Business:
Several things your dog can find outdoors are harmful if swallowed. You
can see some of the hazards, but others you cannot:
- Animal feces and bird droppings. Animal feces can transmit parasites,
bacterial infection, or virus to the dog."
- VeterinaryPartner.com, January, 2005
Flies who bite are attracted by odor of waste on the ground:
"When you see a dog house with a circle
of dirt around it, you know you are looking at the 'home' of a chained
dog. The area where the dogs can move about becomes hard-packed dirt that
carries the stench of animal waste even if the owner picks up fecal material.
The odor of waste draws flies, which bite the dog's ears often causing
serious bloodly wounds."
- Jean V. Johnson, WHS/SPCA News, 1991
Chaining can result in heat stroke and dehydration:
"Interior summers can have high temperatures
over 90 degrees."
- Alaska.com, Anchorage Daily News, June 2, 2009
"Long-term chaining during the hot summer months
can result in countless insect bites, dehydration, and heat stroke."
- Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 2009
"Dogs that are chained up can easily wind the
chain around a tree, a post, or even their own legs. With a tangled chain,
they can't get to their water bowl."
- American Animal Hospital Association, healthypet.com, June 2, 2009
Chaining can result in dogs getting sunburn, solar dermatitis and skin
cancer:
"Dogs, cats and even horses suffer from sunburn,
solar dermatitis and skin cancer.
The skin of a sunburned animal is red and painful, just as in people.
Hair loss may also be evident.
The most common sites for sunburn include: the bridge of the nose, eartips,
skin around the lips, groin, abdomen and inner legs. Pets that have light-colored
noses and skin, thin or missing hair, or have been shaved for surgery
are at greater risk for solar-induced skin diseases.
Sunburn can progress to solar dermatitis which is characterized by redness,
hair loss, crusting and ulceration of the skin. With continued sun exposure,
skin cancer (such as squamous cell carcinoma) may occur."
- Dr. Chris Riney, Providence Journal, June 21, 2009
Alaska's intense sun--
"Alaska has long hours of sunlight during the summer,
and the sun's rays are even more intense when they are reflected off snow
or water." "The sun will burn you even if you feel cold...."
- Jim DuFresne, Paige R. Penland, Don Root. Alaska, Lonely Planet,
Melbourne, Vic., 2003
Dogs on chains are vulnerable to lightning strikes:
"Dog houses are not safe, and dogs which
are chained to metal chains or wire runners are particularly vulnerable
to a nearby lightning strike."
- National Weather Service, Public Information Statement, May, 2002
-- Lightning storms occur during winter and summer months:
"Usually they [thunderstorms and lightning]
are observed along the Outer Coast as strong cold fronts move in from
the Gulf of Alaska. Interestingly, these storms can occur during the winter
months as well as during summer."
"Very active thunderstorm days may feature 2,000 to 5,000 lightning
strikes, mainly occurring during the late afternoon hours in late June
and early July."
- National Weather Service, Juneau, Lightning Page, website article,
April, 2003
Dogs on chains are vulnerable to attacks by rabid animals:
"But
when he looked out, he saw an arctic fox pulling dog-food pans to the
side of the yard and licking them out. [Randy] Romenesko said he shooed
the fox away with a shovel, but it came back. It tried stealing a pan
from one of his chained sled dogs, which lunged at the fox and missed."
"'I kind of threw the shovel at him. But he didn't run off, he ran toward
me.'
'Then I realized I was no longer armed,' he said. He ran in the house,
grabbed his .22-caliber rifle, waited for a clean shot and dispatched
the fox.
It had behaved so oddly that he contacted local authorities, who shipped
the fox's head to the state virology lab in Fairbanks. The results: positive
for rabies".
- Steve Rinehart, Anchorage Daily News, March 20, 1997
Chained dogs are vulnerable to attacks by insects, including wasps and
bees:
--Many more wasps in Alaska than in 1900:
"There are now about 11 species of yellow jackets
in Alaska, and many more species of other types of wasps, [Dr. Derek]
Sikes said. That far surpasses the total of two species of wasps observed
a century earlier by the 1900 Harriman Expedition to Alaska."
- Dr. Sikes is an entomologist at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
- George Bryson, Anchorage Daily News, May 18, 2008
"Long-term chaining during the hot summer months
can result in countless insect bites, dehydration, and heat stroke."
- Cincinnati Enquirer, May 29, 2009
-- Stings cause erythema, edema, pain and even death:
"Four possible reactions are seen after
insect stings: local reactions, regional reactions, systemic anaphylactic
responses, and less commonly, delayed-type hypersensitivity. Clinical
signs of bee and wasp stings include erythema, edema, and pain at the
sting site. Occasionally, animals develop regional reactions. Onset of
life-threatening, anaphylactic signs typically occur within 10 minutes
of the sting."
- Fitzgerald, KT and Flood, AA. Clinical techniques in small animal
practice. 2006 Nov.; 21 (4):194-204
Dogs on chains are vulnerable to attacks by humans:
"Alaska State Troopers and school officials
are investigating the slaying of a Teller teacher's dog by some of her
students, officials said Tuesday.
Five kids -- three girls and two boys -- between the ages of 13 and 15
have been linked to the stabbing death of the sled dog Willow, a member
of the teacher's mushing team.
Trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said two of the girls were present when
the dog was killed but didn't participate in the stabbing. The third girl
held the dog's head and comforted it while the two boys stabbed it with
knives, troopers said."
- Tataboline Brant, Anchorage Daily News, November 10, 2004
"Alaska State Troopers found the 18 sled dogs
that were reportedly shot to death in the village of Manley three weeks
ago.
The dogs disappeared on April 8. The dogs were gone when their owner,
recreational musher Chuck Parker, returned home from work that day. There
was evidence the dogs had been shot and removed from a dog lot in the
small town at the end of the Elliott Highway."
- Staff Report, Fairbanks News-Miner, April 28, 2005
"A Russian Mission man charged with stabbing
four chained sled dogs, leaving two of them dead, pleaded no contest to
animal cruelty Tuesday in a Bethel courtroom.
Carl Vaska, 20, was drunk on home brew the night of Dec. 7, when he took
a knife and slashed the animals where they were chained in a yard, according
to an affidavit from an investigating state wildlife trooper. Vaska's
parents later found bloody gloves in his room."
- Julia O'Malley, Anchorage Daily News, February 12, 2009
"A veteran Iditarod musher returned home to
find his best lead dog dead. Chris Knott's dog, named Charlie, died from
a gunshot wound. 'It suggests it was somebody that knew me and was staking
out the kennel,' said Knott, who lives in nearby Two Rivers."
"A necropsy determined Charlie quickly bled to death after being
shot from behind, possibly by a rifle."
- Associated Press, Seattle Times, August 26, 1999
Tethers can strangle dogs:
"Chains/ropes can get tangled and result
in the dogs's being strangled or dangerously restricted."
Mohawk & Hudson River Humane Society, New York, December, 2002,
website
Chained dogs can get frostbite in less than an hour:
"According to the American Animal Hospital Association,
animals are vulnerable to frostbite and hypothermia in less than an hour."
- Bill Curtis, Bakersfield News, January 14, 2008
[Information
about frostbite and hypothermia hazzards]
Frozen water, maggot infested food, defecation packed down as dirt or
mud:
"Fiske painted a picture of misery: frozen
or overturned water bowls, maggot infested food, defecation in a confined
area that gets packed down as dirt or mud, neck sores from yanking on
collars, or even collars embedded in the dog’s neck because of owner negligence."
- Robert Fiske is the director of Maine Friends of Animals
- Lucy L. Martin, The Lincoln County News, May 4, 2005
Continuous confinement by a tether is inhumane:
"Our
experience in enforcing the Animal Welfare Act has led us to conclude
that continuous confinement of dogs by a tether is inhumane."
-
The United States Department of Agriculture, 1996
"What we've done we've done for the citizens of
this town because of safety first, and it's a humane thing to do for the
animals."
- Councilman Woody Jumper of Big Spring, Texas talking about the city
council voting to ban tethering
- Thomas Jenkins, Big Spring Herald, July 28, 2004
"If you need to secure your dog, get a
big fence. If you need a security system, install an electronic one. If
you want a dog but aren't willing to love it and consider its needs, get
a stuffed one.
Chaining a dog all the time is no way to treat a thinking, breathing,
trusting, loving creature."
- Marty Becker, DVM, Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service, January 21, 2003
"Dogs
offer people undying loyalty and unconditional love. In return, they ask
for nothing more than a sense of belonging." "To banish a dog
permanently to the backyard, while the rest of his 'family' enjoy one
another inside, is a betrayal of this loving pact -- that is not way to
treat man's best friend"
- Nathan J. Winograd, The Ithaca Journal, November 21, 2003
- Winograd is the executive director of the Tompkins County SPCA
Chaining makes dogs aggressive:
"NAPASKIAK, Alaska — Authorities say a sled dog
mauled to death a 3-year-old girl in the southwest Alaska village of Napaskiak
(nuh-PASS'-key-ack).
Alaska State Troopers say Krystal Brink was playing outside Thursday night
with other children and wandered into a dog yard when she was attacked
by one of the dogs — even though the owner had the team tied up."
- Associated Press, May 21, 2010
"Sled dogs attacked and killed a four-year-old boy
in a remote Nunavut village this week, according to police. RCMP officers
in the town of Pangnirtung responded to a call Monday morning reporting
that a boy had been mauled by three dogs who had broken free from chains."
"The three animals, all part of an area sled team, were later 'located
and put down by a local.'"
- Vancouver Sun, March 25, 2010
"Confine your dog in a fenced yard or dog run when
it is not in the house. Never tether or chain your dog because this can
contribute to aggressive behavior."
- American Veterinary Medical Association, website article, May 15, 2003
"He [Eric Blow] said more effective are laws like
the one in Louisville that bar dogs from being chained for more than one
hour a day because chaining a dog has been shown to create aggressive
behavior"
- Eric Blow, director of Metro Animal Services in Louisville, KY
- Andrew Wolfson, The Courier Journal, May 13, 2004
"'These are the dogs that bite,' said Robert Goldman, president of the
Southern California Veterinary Medical Assn. 'When someone ties a dog
to a chain in their yard, you've got a dog that is a time bomb.'"
- Jessica Garrison, Los Angeles Times, August 19,2004
"'You wouldn't tie your children outside,' he [Roger
Mugford] said. 'Keep them indoors with you. And if you can't do that,
don't keep a dog.'
'Dogs, just like human beings who get locked up for no reason, will get
mean and bitter,' he said."
- Roger Muford is an international dog expert
- Glenn Bohn, Vancouver Sun, April 28, 2003
"It triggers a built-in thigmotaxic
(opposition reflex) response to lunge toward stimuli.
It introduces the pain or discomfort of the restraint into any interaction.
Both are common motives for aggression on their own; added to perceived
threats and thigmotaxis, they are explosive.
It exacerbates defensive aggression by preventing escape but offering
no protection from actual or perceived threats.
It reinforces aggression because passersbys "flee" when the dog lunges
at them, thereby rewarding the lunge."
-
Dennis Fetko, Ph.D. December, 2002, Dr. Dog website
- Dr. Fetko is and expert in animal training and behavior
"In addition to frustration, the constant
physical restraint promotes excessive territoriality, which may be manifested
as aggression. These attacks are completely unnecessary as they are easily
preventable by using a secure fence for containment."
- Elizabeth Shull, DVM, president of the
American College of Veterinary Behaviorists
- Marty Becker, DVM, Knight Ridder/Tribune
News Service, January 21, 2003
"Close to home, a child would wander away from
playmates and enter a neighbor's dog lot. The huskies there were sometimes
hungry and ill-tempered. No one played with them, no one petted them.
Some of the males were aggressive. So, when the child tried to cross the
lot, a dog might lunge, taking down his victim as quickly as a predator
on easy prey."
'''Virtually none of the serious attacks in (Bush) Alaska come from roving
bands of dogs,' DeGross said. 'They're always attacked when they wander
into the area where dogs are chained up.'''
- Denny Gross is the former executive director of
the Alaska Native Health Board
- Doug O'Harra, Anchorage Daily
News, November 3, 1996
"On Oct. 23, 1994, when 2-year-old Tracy Ann
Ishnook was playing outside her house in Koliganek. Her parents were installing
insulation in the house and believed their daughter was outdoors with
other children. But Tracy had wandered into a relative's dog lot.
When her father, Wassillie Ishnook Sr., found her, a sled dog had torn
her nose nearly off and was attacking her legs.
''Her face was all bloody, her leg was torn -- and when I saw her leg,
I thought we'd lost her,'' Ishnook said."
"Outside of the village, the horror of the Koliganek attack struck people
with as much impact as a death. Yet it was hardly an isolated case. A
boy had died only a few months earlier in the Yukon River village of Pitkas
Point in a mauling by a loose sled dog. A girl in the Brooks Range village
of Ambler had been scalped by a dog that was secured."
- Doug O'Harra, Anchorage Daily News, November 3, 1996
"A 2-year-old girl in a southwest Alaska village
lost her leg and was badly bitten in the face last weekend after wandering
into a sled dog lot. A week earlier in a village near Kotzebue, a dog
tore the scalp off a 4-year-old girl.
The two maulings are the latest examples of what public health officials
describe as a serious, long-standing threat to children throughout rural
Alaska dogs."
- Tom Bell, Anchorage Daily News, November 4, 1994
"A village toddler who set out for a short walk
to his grandmother's house was found an hour later near his uncle's dog
lot mauled to death by a sled dog."
- Natalie Phillips, Anchorage Daily News, June 10, 1997
"A 3yearold Talkeetna boy died Saturday afternoon
after being attacked by a HuskyMalemute sled dog that had broken its tether.
The youngster, Jerry Lee Cornell, was declared dead at Valley Hospital
in Palmer. The dog, belonging to musher John Barton, was taken by animal
control officers."
- Larry Campbell, Anchorage Daily News, May 7, 1990
"Chained in a prison runway, surrounded by barbed
wire and unclimbable fence, these canine convicts have been known to be
pretty tough dudes and dudettes, capable of killing each other over scraps
of meat and bits of territory."
- Andrew Perala, Anchorage Daily News, March 21, 1987
- Mr. Perala was talking about dogs dropped from the Iditarod who were
sent to Hiland Hiland Mountain Correctional Center.
"Extended tethering to dog houses, trees and
poles increases the likelihood of the dog developing aggressive tendencies."
- Fort Wayne Journal Gazette, May 19, 2005
"'Chaining dogs makes them more aggressive--the
shorter the chain, the greater the aggression,' said Nicholas H. Dodman,
a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine at Tufts University in Grafton, Mass."
-
Michael Zitz, The Free Lance-Star, December 12, 2006
"'This bill helps protect dogs from cruelty and
enhances public safety by preventing aggressive animal behavior that can
result from inhumane tethering,' California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger
said when he signed the it into law."
-
Michael Zitz, The Free Lance-Star, December 12, 2006
Children have a greater chance of dying from dog attacks:
"Statistics show that the younger the person who's attacked, the greater the chance they'll die. For example, of the 36 dog-bite deaths in Alaska since 1940, all were children under 10, according to the state epidemiology office."
"The
deaths of these children make Alaska's rate of dog-attack fatalities 26
times the national average, says a 1979-to-1994 study by the Centers for
Disease Control in Atlanta."
"The biggest threat is in the villages where there can be as many as 400
to 500 sled dogs, said Ron Perkins, who oversees injury prevention programs
for Indian Health Services."
- Linda Weiford, Anchorage Daily
News, April 14, 1998
Chaining forces dogs to go against their natural instincts:
Dr. Paula Kislak:"The other thing besides social
interaction, and dogs definitely are pack animals and they do well and
would normally chose to live in a social grouping, is that they're also
very clean animals, which is why we're able as humans to house-break them,
because we take advantage of their natural fastidious tendencies to not
want to soil the area that they live in their "cave." So when they're
tethered on four foot tethers and that's the extent of the distance they
can go, the area becomes completely soiled with fecal contamination and
urine, stench, and ammonia. And it's just a mess. And the dogs are forced
to live in this, which is also completely contrary to their nature. And
that's the type of thing that the newspapers don't see or report as well.
And that's day to day to day, year after year after year. It's just bad."
- Dr. Paula Kislak, DVM, is president of the Association of Veterinarians
for Animal Rights
- She made these remarks in an interview with Janice Blue, the host of
Go Vegan Texas (KPFT), on February 27, 2006
"When the dogs are first put on a chain, they tend to throw a temper-tantrum."
- Freedman, Lew and Jonrowe,
DeeDee. Iditarod Dreams, Seattle: Epicenter Press, 1995
Chaining
creates abnormal conditions by keeping dogs in solitary confinement:
"Virtually every dog who spends most of the day on the end of a chain will show temperament problems- no surprise to those who understand canine behavior. Chaining by definition, keeps a dog in solitary confinement, continually thwarting its pact instinct to be with other animals or with its human 'pack'."
-Jean V. Johnson, WHS/SPCA News, 1991
"Dogs are very social creatures. They need to interact. The permanent tethering of dogs denies them any possibility for normal social behaviors. In fact, this situation denies them any possibility of normal exercising, as well."
-
Suzanne Cliver, D.V.M., Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights,
July, 1998
Killing or culling unwanted dogs
Killing unwanted dogs doesn't bother mushers:
Ethel Christensen: "Our
philosophy and goal at the Alaska SPCA is prevention, not destruction.
And, what they're doing is breeding and breeding and then they cull and
cull and cull. And culling to the musher doesn't bother them one bit.
And they use to take them into animal control here and then also up in
the valley, but they got such criticism so now they're doing their own
killing. And it's not humane. Believe me it's not humane."
-
Ethel Christensen is the Executive Director of the Alaska SPCA
- She made these remarks on Animal Voices, a radio show in Toronto, Canada.
- She was interviewed by Rob Moore on February 28, 2006
"Letter to the editor: Dog abuse even worse
than column describes
Margery Glickman has stated the truth about this inhumane race, and all
her facts are accurate. What she did not cover is the after-race dog deaths
that no one seems to think are important. There are no statistics to support
this occurrences as no records are maintained. But it is true there are
many after race deaths either from sickness or from a bullet in the head
by the owner to end the suffering of an injured or sick dog. Dogs have
no value if they cannot run.
Also not mentioned is the pre-race culling. When you have 50 to 100 dogs
to care for you have one massive problem, especially when you bring to
life two to four more litters each year. What to do with all the dogs
that don't make the team? Some are given away, but there are few takers.
The pounds in Alaska are full of unwanted dogs, so most of them will be
shot and at the ripe old age of a year or two. Sad, isn't it? This is
animal exploitation at it worst. Take the money out of the race, and it
would end. This is something I urge all supporters to do. Don't help to
finance this inhumane race."
- Thomas J. Classen, Fairbanks, Alaska - The Vero Beach Press Journal,
March 5, 2007
- Tom Classen is a retired Air Force colonel who has lived in Alaska over
20 years.
- He wrote this letter in response to an article the paper published about
the Iditarod.
Musher drowns unwanted puppies:
"...The [Iditarod] board was silent
when Iditarod musher John Cooper wrote a story for this newspaper's magazine
talking about getting rid of unwanted puppies by tying them in a bag and
tossing the bag in a creek."
- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, April
20, 1992
Musher kills puppies with an ax, shoots
ones left alive:
"Iditarod musher Frank Winkler was
charged Friday with animal cruelty for bludgeoning 14 sled-dog puppies
with an ax handle, although he said in an interview earlier this month
that he reluctantly shot them. After a neighbor reported hearing puppies
whimpering in the night, an animal-control officer visited Winkler's trailer
Sept. 7 and found the battered puppies piled in a crate in the back of
his pickup. Two were barely alive and the rest were dead.
One of the live pups 'was crying and was cold, clammy, wet, bloody and
showed clinical signs of shock,' Assistant District Attorney Mindy McQueen
wrote in a charging document. The other was half-buried in the pile of
dead pups. Both live dogs had crushed skulls and were later killed by
animal-control officers."
- Marilee Enge, Anchorage Daily News, September
21, 1991
"The small pups were only a week
old, [Frank] Winkler said. The older pups ranged from
5 to 10 weeks old, he said."
- Don Hunter, Anchorage Daily News,
December 7, 1991
"Winkler tries to kill some of his
puppies by hitting them with the blunt end of an ax. He doesn't hit all
of them hard enough to immediately kill them.
He tries to shoot some others with a borrowed .22-caliber rifle, but trying
to hold down a puppy while cradling a rifle is no easy task. Winkler has
to be careful to avoid shooting himself. He is lucky in that he succeeds.
He is unlucky in that the shots only wounded some of the puppies.
Two live. Winkler, unaware of this, throws them into a box in back of
his truck with the corpses of their brothers and sisters. He goes home.
The dying puppies whimper while Winkler sleeps. A neighbor hears the whimpering."
- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, April 20, 1992
Dan MacEachen, former Iditarod musher,
shoots unwanted dogs:
"MacEachen has run Alaska's Iditarod
- at 1,150 miles, the world's premier dog-sled race - seven times."
- Gwen Florio, Rocky Mountain News, April
6, 2005
"Unwanted dogs at one of the largest
tourist sled-dog operations in the country are shot in the back of the
head and buried in a pit filled with excrement...."
"Dan MacEachen, owner of the Krabloonik sled-dog center in Snowmass Village
for 31 years, said several dogs have been shot with a .22-caliber rifle
and buried in a pit where feces from about 250 dogs are deposited. The
exact number of animals that have been shot is in dispute, but a former
employee said it has been as many as 30 in one year."
- Thomas Watkins, Denver Post,
April 6, 2005
"Dan MacEachen, who acknowledged
that he shot and killed old or injured Alaskan huskies - and some younger
dogs that didn't take to pulling sleds - with a .22-caliber rifle, faced
heavy criticism after his method of destroying the animals came to light
this week."
- Steve Lipsher, Denver Post, April 7, 2005
Mushers unable to find homes for unwanted dogs:
"Who out there is dumb enough to believe that some musher living in the middle of nowhere is ‘able to find good homes for the dogs?"
-
Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 5, 1993
Mushers killing puppies:
"Killing unwanted sled-dog puppies is part of doing business, many Alaska mushers say."
-
Anchorage Daily News, October 6, 1991
Culling or killing 3 month old puppies:
"[Musher] Plettner said she checks her dogs at 5 weeks old for size, appetite and aggressiveness. Then she tries to work with ones that need improvement, testing the pups weekly until they are about 12 weeks old. After she rates the dogs on feet, coat, digestive system, angulation of legs, drive and smarts, she culls."
-
Anchorage Daily News, October 6, 1991
Mushers
getting rid of dogs who run a mile an hour too slow:
"They [the big racing outfits] can't keep a dog who's a mile an hour too slow."
-
Musher Lorraine Temple, Currents Magazine, Fall 1999
Unwanted
dogs clubbed or dragged to death:
"On-going
cruelty is the law of many dog lots. Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats
and if they don't pull dragged to death in harness. (Imagine being dragged
by your neck-line at 15 miles per hour while suffering a major heart-attack!)
...."
- Mike Cranford, Two Rivers, Alaska
- The Bush Blade Newspaper, serving Cook Inlet and Bush Alaska,
March, 2000, website article
Famous musher bred 300 dogs to get 5 good ones:
"On a recent TV documentary and typical of many
[mushers], a famous Iditarod musher stated that she bred 300 dogs to get
5 good ones!"
"...Help stop the culling and killing."
- Ethel D. Christensen Alaska SPCA Executive Director
- The Alaska S.P.C.A. website April, 2001
Unwanted dogs are killed:
"'I'm definitely going to have to cull some
dogs. There's no way we can keep them,' he [Charlie Campbell] said."
"The culling won't start until the mushing season begins and he and
his wife can assess each dog. 'We're going to have to be ruthless about
who we keep.'"
- Joel Gay, Anchorage Daily News, September 30, 2002
Competitive dog mushing is built on dead dogs:
"Competitive dog mushing is built on dead dogs,
from the time slow-looking puppies are culled to the moment some overbred,
undersized racing hound expires of overexertion."
- Mike Doogan, Anchorage Daily News, April, 1994
"'Competitive kennels, or even kennels that may
not be competitive but aspire to be, often breed more dogs than they're
actually going to be able to keep, afford to keep and pay for the vet
bills, the food and all the other associated costs,' [Frank] Turner told
CBC News in a recent pre-race interview.
'If you added up the numbers, there's no way all those other puppies or
young dogs are going to be sold or given away to homes. We're just breeding
too many dogs.'
The Yukon Quest should admit that culling is part of the competitive racing
world and take measures to discourage it, he said."
- Frank Turner is a musher
- Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Feb. 9, 2007
"When I was active in the mushing community, other
mushers were open with me about the fact that larger Iditarod kennels
frequently disposed of dogs by shooting them, drowning them or setting
them loose to fend for themselves in the wilderness. This was especially
true in Alaska, they said, where veterinarians were often hours away.
They often used the phrase 'Bullets are cheaper.' And they noted that
it's more practical for mushers in remote parts of Alaska to do it themselves."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Death by gunshot is often a painful way for dogs to die:
"The Iditarod is an 'extreme sport,' and like in
other extreme sports, its athletes (the dogs) are frequently injured,
sometimes permanently, or die. Unlike in other extreme sports, most of
the participants didn't choose to compete, they were forced into service,
and they have nothing to say about it because they are dogs. For those
dogs who do survive the Iditarod, for the many on the fringe of the competitive
circle who aren't good enough to compete or aren't worth breeding, they
will be shot when they have outlived their usefulness. They aren't even
deserving of the kind of compassionate death we guarantee most convicted
murderers - painless lethal injection. Those who do live, for a while,
spend most of their hours tied by a short chain to a stake."
-
Jim Willis, Director, The Tiergarten Sanctuary Trust
- Mr. Willis is the author of the acclaimed book Pieces of My Heart
- Writings Inspired by Animals and Nature, http://www.crean.com/jimwillis
AVMA
does not recommend routine euthanasia by gunshot:
"Gunshot
should not be used for routine euthanasia of animals...."
-
2000 Report of the American Veterinary Medical Association Panel on Euthanasia
Agents
and Methods of Euthanasia:
| Species | Acceptable | Conditionally acceptable |
| Dog | Barbiturates, inhalant anesthetics, CO, potassium chloride in conjunction with general anesthesia | N2, Ar, penetrating captive bolt, electrocution |
-
From 2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia
-
Dr. James B. Nichols, University of Vermont, Office of Animal Care Management
website
Some culled Iditarod dogs are skinned for fur
Dogs skinned for parka ruffs and mittens
"....As a dog handler myself, I rescued two
old Iditarod stars before their owner ended their fame with a shot to
the brain. Culling unwanted dogs is an on-going mushers' practice and
one racer had numerous pits full of dead dogs from puppies to oldsters---
some skinned for parka ruffs and mittens!"
-
Mike Cranford, Two Rivers, Alaska
- The Bush Blade Newspaper, serving Cook Inlet and Bush Alaska,
March, 2000, website article
Dogs skinned to make hats and mittens:
"At one Iditarod and Yukon Quest veteran kennel,
there was a dog who wasn't very fast. Like many sled dogs, he lived on
a short chain with nothing but a cruddy dog house and a rusty food bowl
for company.
Sometimes, he was whipped in harness with pine branches or "bumped" with
the all terrain vehicle he and his teammates were pulling (meaning the
mushers hooked him up closest to the machine and then sped up to hit his
backside). His owners didn't care much for him, as he was not the best
worker and was also neutered – thus he had no value as a breeding animal.
His owners often talked about shooting him if he didn't shape up.
One day, I was told that I had to accompany this dog to the veterinarian
to "see what happened to dogs that didn't make the cut." Without a physical
examination or owner counseling, this dog was simply euthanized because
he was too slow. He was perfectly healthy, and indeed could have made
a great team dog on a recreational team.
The dogs body was taken back to the mushers' home and placed in a larger
freezer (where meat for dog food was stored). I was then shown a pair
of mittens that were made from a previous sled dog who wasn't fast enough.
I was told that it's important to kill them (sled dogs) when they are
young, because their pelts (fur coats) are in better condition and will
make better garments."
-
Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 30, 2008
"He
(Colonel Tom Classen) confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving
dogs to maintain their optimum racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens."
-
Tom Classen is a retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over
40 years
- Jon
Saraceno, USA Today, March 3, 2000
Actress
Sylvia Miles wore pelt from dead Iditarod dog:
"Spruced up like an Ewok princess,
thespian beauty Sylvia Miles bundled up in luxurious skins for a NYC premiere
on Monday. Clad in Davy Crockett headgear, a cotton candy mane, the pelt
from an Alaskan Iditarod sled dog.... "
- TMZ.com, December 12, 2007
- TMZ.com is a joint venture between Telepictures Productions and AOL
Chained
dogs get little attention and exercise
Most
dogs stay on their chains:
"Each dog was not exercised every day. Older dogs
never got off their chains. Dogs who made the main team were run a few
times a week. Puppies were run once or twice a week. Dogs that didn't
make the main team were rarely put into harness. Most dogs just sat on
their chains and that is what their life consisted of."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel
employee who now rescues and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Dogs don't get daily attention:
"The dogs didn't get daily attention. Unless the
dogs were being run, they didn't get handled. Handlers scooped poop around
them and fed them by throwing their food in a rusty, disgusting food dish
or on the ground. The mushers themselves had little interaction with their
dogs except for riding on the training ATV or the sled behind them. Their
handlers did everything else."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel
employee who now rescues and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Chained
dogs go "mad" or become "kennel crazy"
"'They basically go mad,' [Nicholas] Dodman said,
when chained for extended periods of time."
- Nicholas H. Dodman, a Ph.D. in veterinary medicine at Tufts University
in Grafton, Mass. - Michael Zitz, The Free Lance-Star, December
12, 2006
"Most dogs don't get off
the chain. These dogs go 'kennel crazy.' Some obsessively licked their
paws and legs raw. Many run their circle perimeter over and over and
over and wear a deep path in the ground from doing it so much. Others
obsessively dig holes. It's very, very sad to watch."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel
employee who now rescues and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Mushers charged with animal cruelty and reckless
neglect
Doug Bartko starves dogs to death:
"PALMER,
Alaska -- Mat-Su Animal Control officials say they have uncovered one
of the worst cases of animal cruelty they have ever seen.
Officials found 25 dogs, many of them nearly starved to death and some
chained to a short wire, left in a remote location with no food or water.
Investigators seized the animals over the last two days."
"Animal Care Chief Dave Allison says all were emaciated, dehydrated and
clearly neglected.
'If you put your hands on them you can feel pretty much every bone in
their body,' he said.
Allison says the dogs' teeth are broken from trying to eat rocks too.
Doug Bartko owns the dogs. He says it's been a rough spring.
'My system broke down and I was just in the process of getting it back
up again,' he said.
That system is clearly flawed, even for Bartko. His food supply has been
rotted salmon heads.
It appears Bartko let things go too far and it's not the first time. Court
records show he was cited for animal cruelty back in 2006."
" Bartko was cited for five counts of interference with an investigation,
ten counts of failure to provide humane animal care and his kennel license
has been revoked."
- Megan Maldino, KTUU-TV, May 7, 2008, website article
-- Doug Bartko found guilty of 39 counts of animal cruelty
"Musher
Doug Bartko was found guilty of 39 counts of animal cruelty, failure to
provide care for his dogs and interfering with an investigation in a Palmer
court Tuesday."
- Lori Tipton, KTUU-TV, July 30, 2008, website article
John T. Hessert plead guilty to animal cruelty:
"BOZEMAN, Mont.—A West Yellowstone
man accused of abandoning 33 sled dogs without food, water or shelter
pleaded guilty Monday to two counts of misdemeanor animal cruelty as part
of a plea agreement.
John T. Hessert, 24, wore a vest embroidered with an Iditarod logo as
he made his plea before District Judge Holly Brown."
"Hessert initially pleaded not guilty to one felony count of aggravated
animal cruelty and 33 misdemeanor counts of animal cruelty. The felony
charge was dropped as part of the plea agreement.
According to court records, a man called animal control Jan. 30 to report
that the dogs were being kept in an unsafe environment outside West Yellowstone
near Targhee Pass.
A veterinarian examined the dogs and determined that they were all "well
below normal health and had not been being fed enough food," according
to court records. One of the dogs had a collar embedded in its neck and
other dogs had frostbite."
- Associated Press, The Boston Globe, July
22, 2008
--John Hessert worked for Martin
Buser and was instructed by him:
"Hessert,
who ran the race with a group of young dogs out of Martin Buser's kennel,
wound up in 50th place. Sixty-three mushers finished the race, while another
16 scratched along the fabled Iditarod Trail."
- John Holyoke, Bangor Daily News,
March 24, 2005
"He
[John Hessert] is living in Big Lake, Alaska where he is learning more
about training dogs under the tutelage of four-time Iditarod winner Martin
Buser."
- North Yarmouth Academy, Alumni News Archive for 2005
David Straub was not feeding
his dogs:
"Animal control officers removed 28
dogs from the property of a Willow musher Saturday and cited him with
17 counts of animal cruelty after authorities said they found the huskies
with rib, hip and tail bones protruding through their thick fur.
David Straub, a three-time Iditarod racer, was not feeding his dogs, said
a Mat-Su Borough animal control officer.
Ten of the dogs were found to be emaciated, animal control officials said."
- Megan Holland, Anchorage Daily
News, Oct. 20, 2004
-- Straub's dogs running in circles, foaming
at the mouth, and one died:
"The complainant, Daniel Blythe, stated
in writing that when he saw the dogs Oct. 10 they were starving, dazed,
running in tight circles and foaming at the mouth.
Straub, who moved to Alaska from Missouri in 1996 to pursue dog-sledding,
admitted one of his dogs died that day. He said it wasn't from starvation,
but from the flu."
- John Davidson, Frontiersman, Oct. 22, 2004
-- David Straub found guilty of animal cruelty:
"A Palmer magistrate on Wednesday found
Willow musher David Straub guilty of animal cruelty for failing to provide
his dog team with enough food, water or veterinary care last fall."
- Zaz Hollander, Anchorage Daily News, April 7, 2005
-- David Straub receives 25 citations for violations in 2009
"The Mat-Su Borough on Tuesday
cited former Iditarod musher David Straub of Willow for 25 violations
stemming from running a dog kennel without a license.
Chief Mat-Su Animal Care Officer Bob Haskell said 21 citations are for
dogs not registered with the borough, three are for dogs without immunization
records and one is for operating a kennel without a license."
- Anchorage Daily News, June, 2009
Charlotte Fitzhugh charged with reckless
neglect:
"Bush musher Clay Farnham had heard
all the horror stories about his neighbor's dog yard before he went over
to investigate two years ago. Word was that more than 100 animals were
going days without food and water at Charlotte Fitzhugh's place in Chistochina.
A misguided sled dog breeder with a history of dog neglect, her animals
were reportedly left to fend for themselves at temperatures beyond 50
below while she worked as a taxi driver in Fairbanks, more than 250 miles
away.
Even with the warning, Farnham was unprepared for what he saw. "All the
dogs were skinny and wild-eyed, he said. Some were chained to clapboard
boxes offering little shelter; others were chained to trees.
A
half dozen dogs lay dead across the snow, Farnham said. Hunks of flesh
were missing from their emaciated bodies. 'It wasn't very hard to figure
out what had happened,' he said. 'The live dogs were starving, and they
were eating the dead ones.'"
"Eventually, the state filed 17 charges of reckless neglect against her
[Charlotte Fitzhugh]."
"'We have 60 plus below here and they don't all have houses," said Terry
Endres, who owns the Chistochina Lodge. 'Some nights, when it was still,
you could hear those dogs crying all night long.'"
"'You've seen pictures of people starving to death in Somalia? That's
what they looked like,' [Will] Forsberg said. 'I saw some dogs there so
skinny I wondered if they could even get up.'"
"On Christmas Eve 1993, Alaska State Trooper Don Pierce searched Fitzhugh's
yard after several of her neighbors reported she hadn't been seen for
days. They were worried a cold snap would take a toll on the dogs.
'As I walked onto the property, I started seeing dead dogs,' Pierce said.
'They were dead on the ends of chains. ... It was real grim.'
Pierce said he found five bodies that day. Necropsies later showed the
dogs had less than 1 percent body fat. 'The dogs were essentially feeding
on their own tissue and organs,'
he said.'"
- Peter S. Goodman, Anchorage Daily News, April 7, 1995
Norman Mac-Alpine charged with animal cruelty:
"An Anvik man who competed in the 1983 Iditarod
and often runs the Yukon 200 has been charged with animal cruelty after
four of his dogs died while he was out of town. Alaska State Troopers
said Norman Mac-Alpine, 29, left his dogs without food or water for almost
five days while he was in Grayling, a nearby village."
- S.J. Komarnitsky, Anchorage Daily News, October 2, 1993
Frank Winkler charged with animal cruelty:
"Iditarod musher Frank Winkler was charged Friday
with animal cruelty for bludgeoning 14 sled-dog puppies with an ax handle,
although he said in an interview earlier this month that he reluctantly
shot them. After a neighbor reported hearing puppies whimpering in the
night, an animal-control officer visited Winkler's trailer Sept. 7 and
found the battered puppies piled in a crate in the back of his pickup.
Two were barely alive and the rest were dead.
One of the live pups 'was crying and was cold, clammy, wet, bloody and
showed clinical signs of shock,' Assistant District Attorney Mindy McQueen
wrote in a charging document. The other was half-buried in the pile of
dead pups. Both live dogs had crushed skulls and were later killed by
animal-control officers."
- Marilee Enge, Anchorage Daily News, September 21, 1991
Matthew Calore received 17 citations for "MSB24.05.080: 1st Offense
Failure to Provide Humane Animal Care"
-
3PA-08-11766MO Matanuska-Susitna Borough vs. Calore, Matthew C
- Alaska Trial Court Cases website, State of Alaska, Case 3PA-08-11766MO,
filed 9/24/2008
-
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Code:
24.05.080 HUMANE
ANIMAL CARE. (A)Humane animal care includes, but is not limited to, providing:
(1)sufficient wholesome and nutritious food daily which will keep the
animal in healthy physical condition; (2)sufficient daily quantities of
fresh water which meet the hydration requirements for the animal; (3)adequate
shelter and freedom of movement which provides adequate air, ventilation,
and space which prevents the animal from being exposed to inclement or
adverse weather conditions, overheating from sunlight, unsanitary conditions,
and dirty, wet, and uncomfortable conditions which may endanger the health
or welfare of the animal; and (4)veterinary care when needed to treat
the animal for sickness, disease, injury, or to prevent suffering of the
animal. (B)No owner shall fail to provide humane animal care or place
an animal in a situation where the animal's life, safety or health is
endangered. (1)A rebuttable presumption of a violation shall exist where
the animal is separated from basic needs such as food, water, shelter,
or necessary medical attention or is placed in a situation where the animal's
life, safety and health is endangered and the regulation office receives
no response in 24 hours after providing notice to the owner of the situation
or posting notice at the property where the animal is located. (C)Failure
to provide humane care to animals is an infraction. (Ord. 08-013(AM),
§ 2, 2008: Ord. 05-165, § 2, 2005: Ord. 03-065(AM), § 1, 2003; Ord. 92-013(sub1),
§ 3 (part), 1992)
Adequate dog care
is too costly
Many mushers have large kennels. Think about how much it costs
to take care of just one dog. A healthy dog needs veterinary checkups
every year and other items like food, enteric worm medication, toothpaste,
toothbrushes, shampoo, vaccinations and professional teeth cleaning. Think
about how much more it costs to care for a sick dog.
Dogs don't get routine veterinary care:
Consider how expensive it is to get annual check-ups,
routine vaccinations and year-round heartworm, flea and tick preventative
for just one dog. Could you imagine doing all this for a kennel of 50,
75, 100, 150, 200? It's not practical, and it doesn't happen. The dogs
get the bare minimum of vaccines to be able to legally cross borders and
compete in sled dog races."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Dogs don't alway get vet care when they are sick:
"The dogs don't always get vet care when they are
sick or injured. And it is cheaper to just let the dog die. God forbid
parvo or something like that ever hit one of these places - it would be
a mess. With some dogs, mushers have a 'wait and see' policy. It's horrid
to see the dogs sitting there in obvious discomfort, let me tell you.
The more valuable dogs get better vet care."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Do
you believe that mushers can afford to adequately care for as many as
90 dogs or more?
"The sprawling Matanuska-Susitna Borough is Alaska
sled dog country, a hub for professional and recreational mushers lured
by a vast network of trails and the freedom to keep kennels that can number
as many as 100 dogs or more."
- Rachel D'Oro, Associated Press, May 2, 2005
Lynda Plettner has over 300 dogs:
"We
have over 300 dogs at our kennel...."
- Plettner Kennels website, 2005
Joe
Redington, Sr. had 527 dogs:
"By
1990 we had five hundred and twenty-seven dogs."
- Joe Redington, Sr., May, 1999, preface to Lew
Freedman's book Father of the Iditarod
Rachael
Scdoris has from 90 to 100 dogs or more:
Helen
Fields: "How many dogs do you have?"
Rachael
Scdoris: "About 90."
-
Helen Fields, U.S. News & World Report, Feb. 24, 2006
"I
have an enormous kennel and about 100 dogs...."
-
Rachael Scdoris talking about her dog lot
- Gillian Gifford, The Star, July 24, 2006
Doug
Swingley owns from 150 to 200 dogs:
"Swingley, a four-time Iditarod champion, owns a stable of about 150 dogs...."
-
Paul Strelow, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, March 3, 2006
"'(Swingley) has usually got between 160 and 200 dogs in his kennels,'
[Matt] Anderson, who bought his first dogs from Swingley, said."
- Bren T. Boyce, The Nonpareil, August 20, 2006
Mitch Seavey owns 200 dogs:
"[Fawn Wilson] She also spent last summer in Seavey's
camp, with its 200 dogs."
-Phillip B. Wilson, Indianapolis Star, March 14, 2008
Susan Butcher and husband had 120 dogs:
"Butcher and her husband, David Munson, now
maintain a dog lot of 120 dogs."
- Natalie Phillips and Tim Murray, Anchorage Daily News, March 15, 1994
Duane "Dewey" Halverson had 140 dogs:
"[Duane 'Dewey'] Halverson has been training sled
dogs for a number of years. At one point he had 140 dogs."
- Ann Gill, The Free Press Newspapers, March 2, 2010
Big Kennels
Big Suffering
When mushers have large
kennels, dog injuries and illnesses can very often go unnoticed.
Some medical conditions affecting sled dogs:
- "Hot Spots"
"Any breed of dog can be affected by "hot spots,"
but they are most common in dogs that have a thicker hair coat with a
lot of undercoat, such as retrievers and sled dogs. A hot spot is created
by anything that causes inflammation and breaks down the natural barrier
in the skin that protects against infection." "Allergies, insect
bites and minor trauma to the skin are the most common underlying problem.
Regular grooming, either at home or professionally will decrease the chance
of your pet getting this ugly, painful infection. Hot spots can spread
rapidly and often require prescription medications to control them."
- Nancy, Wilber, DVM, DogsAreOK Magazine, July-August, 2010
- Eating rocks (pica):
"Sled dogs eating rocks is a common problem
in many kennels and unfortunately, it often leads to death."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Website lakotasong.com, 2010
"Chewing rocks can be dangerous to more than your
dog's teeth or soft mouth tissues. It can lead to intestinal blockage,
vomiting, diarrhea, or even choking, if the rock is large enough to block
your dog's throat."
- Website petplace.com, 2010
- Hypothermia and frostbite:
"All dogs reach their cold-tolerance limit at some
temperature, the Cornell husky-trainer said. 'If it's so cold that you
can't go out without extreme cold-weather gear, your dog shouldn't be
outside at that temperature either.' 'Bring the dogs inside then' he advised."
- Arleigh Reynolds, D.V.M., Ph.D. was an assistant professor at Cornell
- Cornell University Science News press release, Dec. 9, 1996, on its
website
"The other problem is frostbite of the flanks and
frostbite of the penis."
- Runyan, Joe. Winning Strategies for Distance Mushers. Sacramento:
Griffin Printing, 1997
"Frostbite can occur on a dog's paw but do not usually
occur in this area. Frostbite is more commonly seen in area where the
hair covering is sparse and the circulation is poor, such as the ear tips,
tail tips, and scrotum."
- Dr. Vern Otte, DVM, DABVP, Critter Connection website, January, 2003
"'There's a particular thing that happens with these
sled dogs in certain snow conditions where the hair is lost off the back
of their wrists, exposing the flexor tendons to potential frostbite. It
was a lot of work for me to take care of my dogs,' said his dad, Mitch
Seavey."
- Kevin Wells, KTUU-TV, KTUU.COM, March 17, 2010
"Severe frostbite
causes blisters, tissue death, open wounds and gangrene: "In more severe
cases of frostbite, blisters may form. In even more serious cases however,
the deeper tissues become involved, and patches of skin may shrivel and
die, sloughing off to leave raw, open wounds. In the most severe cases
this may result in gangrene. It is often difficult to distinguish mild
and severe cases of frostbite for the first few days...."
- Dr. Linda Aronson, DVM. VetSpeak Section of the Shaggy Sentinel,
November, 1997
- More medical conditions affecting sled dogs can be found in the following
section: Permanent
chaining of dogs is cruel, dangerous and makes dogs aggressive
Mushers can't bond
with all their dogs dogs
Rob
Moore: "Now the mushers do say their dogs are treated
very well. And, I read that they have these romantic statements about
the strong bond between musher and dog. But can there be a strong bond?
And, can there be proper treatment in these kennels or between them and
these dogs that they're breeding to race in this one race? Ethel, I'll
direct that to you."
Ethel Christensen: "It's all media hype. I mean,
you can't have anything negative in the media about the Iditarod. And
it's all hype. I'm sorry but it's just not true. But, don't get me wrong.
I love mushing. I love the recreational mushing and there's of good people
that are mushers out there, but the race is not humane. It's inhumane
and I don't see how they could possibly bond with all their dogs."
[From the Sled Dog Action Coalition: Iditarod mushers
routinely have kennels of 90 to 200 dogs.]
-
Ethel Christensen is the founder and former Executive Director of the
Alaska SPCA
- Rob Moore hosts Animal Voices, a radio show in Toronto, Canada.
- This interview was done on February 28, 2006
Click DOGS
to get an idea of how many dogs mushers own.
Many dogs have
no names
"The mushers don't have much interaction with the
dogs, it's mostly the handlers that are responsible for their upkeep.
In the large kennels, the mushers don't know one dog from another unless
the dog is on the main team. The dogs who are not on the main team don't
have names."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Dogs in remote areas don't get veterinary care
Dr. Paula Kislak: "Most of these mushers live really
out in very remote areas, so there is no way that these dogs are getting
any veterinary care at all, except what's being administered by the musher
him or herself. And, of course the euthanasia, they would never bring
an animal in by airplane or lengthy drives to be euthanized. So, they're
going to use whatever they find the most expedient. And of course a gunshot,
well that uses a bullet and it's cheaper even just to drown them, because
every penny that they spend, litterally every penny that they spend going
into animal care or animal destruction is out of their profit or bottom
line. And they look at it that way."
Janice Blue: "It's really disgusting."
- Janice Blue is the host of the radio program Go Vegan Texas, KPFT
- Dr. Paula Kislak, DVM, is president of the Association of Veterinarians
for Animal Rights
- The interview was done on February 27, 2006
Sick and injured
dogs often get no veterinary care
No veterinary care for sick and injured dogs:
"Because there are so many dogs in the larger kennels, handlers just clean
up the poop and give the dogs food, so the socialization aspect is definitely
lacking along with personal care for toenails, grooming, etc. In these
kennels, handlers don't know the individual dogs well and often don't
recognize when the dogs are sick. Also, most handlers don't stay long
and don't get to know the dogs. The dogs that get the most attention are
those who run the fastest.
The dogs don't always get vet care when they are sick or injured. And
it is cheaper to just let the dog die. God forbid parvo or something like
that ever hit one of these places - it would be a mess. With some dogs,
mushers have a 'wait and see' policy. It's horrid to see the dogs sitting
there in obvious discomfort, let me tell you. The more valuable dogs get
better vet care."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
"I've seen firsthand dogs left on chains for months
on end with basically no attention other than being given food and water,
some with inadequate shelter from the elements, others with unattended
illnesses or injuries."
- Rebecca Knight, Anchorage Daily News, May 30, 2007
- Rebecca Knight lives in the Mat-Su Borough with her husband and nine
huskies. She also volunteers for an animal rescue organization.
Amputation
(cutting) of canine teeth in sled dogs
American Veterinary Dental College opposes crown amputation:
"The American Veterinary Dental College expresses concern regarding the
amputation (‘cutting’) of canine teeth in sled dogs. It is felt that there
are methods available that are more modern, less painful and associated
with fewer complications. AVDC encourages practitioners to use currently
accepted dental techniques."
- Adopted by the American Veterinary Dental College Board of Directors,
April 21 1996, website article, 2009
Canadian Veterinary Medical Association describes an amputation:
"The actual procedure involves manual restraint,
the use of a mouth gag, and breaking off the four canine teeth near the
gum line using metal snippers (large bolt or wire cutters). Typically,
no anesthetic nor analgesic is used during the cutting, and no care is
provided to the dog following this extremely painful procedure. Infection
and chronic pain are the major complications arising from this procedure.
The procedure conducted in this manner is inappropriate and inhumane."
- Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, revised 2003, website article,
2009
Dogs don't get fresh
water every day
"I know of very few kennels that provide fresh water
every day. Most don't give any water in the winter except with meals (a
soup mixture) because it's near impossible to keep hundreds of water buckets
from freezing without hours of extra work every day."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Horrific conditions
in Iditarod champion's kennel
"When I traveled to work for a champion Iditarod
and touring kennel in Alaska, I found that over two hundred dogs lived
in dilapidated wooden dog houses and plastic barrels, without straw. Even
though the temperatures were below zero at night, the few elderly dogs
that were present received no bedding or extra care. They slowly crawled
out of their dog houses each morning, arthritic and constantly growing
thinner from the cold. Poorly constructed and maintained houses are bad
because they provide little to no warmth for the dog. Temperatures are
bad enough in Alaska, but wind chill factors make it even worse."
- Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 28, 2007
Few sled dogs are
adopted
"So far this spring, the shelter [the North Star Borough Animal Shelter]
has reached its maximum at 25 huskies. In one week, three were put to
death. Five were adopted, which is encouraging but it's very rare to have
that many find homes in one week, said Sandy Klimaschesky, the lead animal
tender at the shelter.
Sometimes because the shelter is so full, some dogs go right from the
front door to be euthanized, she said."
"But the facts are that each year, more than 1,000 sled dogs wind up at
the shelter and of those, only about a third are adopted."
- Associated Press, Anchorage Daily News, May 7, 2007
[From the Sled Dog Action Coalition: The Fairbanks
North Star Borough is one of 32 geographic areas listed by the United
States Census Bureau.]
Iditarod
kennels compared to recreational musher kennels
"Few recreational mushers cull or sell dogs, choosing
instead to keep them for the duration of their lives. Doing so inevitably
produces a retirement-home-type situation.
'My yard is really big because I have a lot of old dogs,' [Helyn] Lefgren
said. 'I don’t get rid of them when they get old or can’t run fast enough.
All the recreational mushers I know have the same commitment to the dogs,”
she said."
- Tim Mowry, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, March 20, 2008
Dogs forced to
whelp outside in frigid weather
"Due to my heavy involvement in this 'sport,' I've been able to witness
atrocities that many will never hear of or see - nor would they want to.
These include: "Pregnant dogs forced to whelp outside, in the middle
of a frigid winter, in uninsulated wooden huts."
-
Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 30, 2008
Dogs fed expired
food and rotting meat
"Due
to my heavy involvement in this 'sport,' I've been able to witness atrocities
that many will never hear of or see - nor would they want to. These include:
Dogs being fed expired dog food and rotting meat."
-
Ashley Keith, former musher and Iditarod kennel employee who now rescues
and rehabilitates abused sled dogs
- Email to the Sled Dog Action Coalition, April 30, 2008
Volcanic
ash from Mount Redoubt eruptions dangerous for dogs
Alaska Volcano Observatory says dogs shouldn't
breathe in ash:
"What was I going to do with a team of huskies who,
according to Alaska Volcano Observatory recommendations, should not breathe
in the fine glass-like particles found in Redoubt's emissions?"
"My dilemma is small compared with that of mushers of large kennels, whose
lots further north and northeast are much more at risk. What about the
mushers off Petersville Road, where the ash has already been reported?
What are Jeff King's dogs doing up in Denali, where there also have been
trace amounts of ash found?"
- Melissa DeVaugh, Anchorage Daily News,
March 27, 2009
Alaska Red Cross says bring dogs inside to protect
them from breathing volcanic ash:
"What to Do During a Volcanic Eruption:
Bring animals and livestock into closed shelters to protect them from
breathing volcanic ash."
- Alaska Red Cross, website article, March, 2009
Volcanic ash can be a persistent hazard
for dogs:
"Even after a series of ash-producing eruptions
has ended, wind and human activity can stir up fallen ash for months or
years, presenting a long-term health and economic hazard."
- U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet, website, 2009
After Iditarod,
dogs with compromised lungs face ash hazards:
- 81 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod
have lung damage:
"To investigate, the team of researchers examined
the airways of 59 sled dogs 24 to 48 hours after they completed the long
and arduous race. Their findings are published in the September issue
of the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine.
The researchers found that 81% of the canines had "abnormal accumulations"
of mucus or cellular debris in their lower airways. This accumulation
was classified as moderate to severe in nearly half of the animals, according
to the report. There was no evidence that the lung damage could be due
to bacterial infection, the authors note. Instead, they say, it was likely
caused by cooling and drying out of peripheral airway passages, resulting
in injury and inflammation."
- Reuters Health,Tue Oct 8, 2002, 2:17 PM ET
- Airway dysfunction persists despite 4 months
of rest:
"CONCLUSIONS: Racing Alaskan sled dogs have airway
dysfunction similar to 'ski asthma' that persists despite having 4 months
of rest. These findings suggest that repeated exercise in cold conditions
can lead to airway disease that does not readily resolve with cessation
of exercise."
- Davis M, Williamson K, McKenzie E, Royer C, Payton M, Nelson S., "Effect
of training and rest on respiratory mechanical properties in racing sled
dogs." Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 2005 Feb;37(2):337-41
on PubMed website.
What
is Volcanic Ash?
"Small jagged pieces of rocks, minerals, and
volcanic glass the size of sand and silt (less than 1/12 inch or 2 millimeters
in diameter) erupted by a volcano are called volcanic ash. Very small
ash particles can be less than 1/25,000th of an inch (0.001 millimeter)
across.
Though called "ash," volcanic ash is not the product of combustion, like
the soft fluffy material created by burning wood, leaves, or paper. Volcanic
ash is hard, does not dissolve in water, is extremely abrasive and mildly
corrosive, and conducts electricity when wet.
Volcanic ash is formed during explosive volcanic eruptions. Explosive
eruptions occur when gases dissolved in molten rock (magma) expand and
escape violently into the air, and also when water is heated by magma
and abruptly flashes into steam. The force of the escaping gas violently
shatters solid rocks. Expanding gas also shreds magma and blasts it into
the air, where it solidifies into fragments of volcanic rock and glass.
Once in the air, hot ash and gas rise quickly to form a towering eruption
column, often more than 30,000 feet high. Larger rock fragments more than
2 inches across ejected by the explosion typically fall within a few miles
of the eruption site. However, wind can quickly blow fine ash away from
the volcano to form an eruption cloud. As the cloud drifts downwind from
the erupting volcano, the ash that falls from the cloud typically becomes
smaller in size and forms a thinner layer. Ash clouds can travel thousands
of miles, and some even circle the earth."
- U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet, website, 2009
Yukon
River flooding obliterates dog kennels
"Villages damaged by recent Yukon River
flooding are sending out an urgent plea for dog food."
"One Tanana musher, Pat Moore, lost his fish camp and with it, his
dog food supply.
'His entire camp got obliterated,' [Mark] Haglin said, noting Moore is
not alone.
'Everybody’s saving table scraps and things to feed the dogs,' he said.
In other places, such as Stevens Village, raging water wiped out dog yards
as it washed into the community. Canines are tied to trees with bowls
of water, waiting for new doghouses as residents begin the slow process
of rebuilding homes."
- Mark Haglin is Tanana's Fire Chief
- Rena Delbridge, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, May 20, 2009
Back to the top
Articles
about the Iditarod
Dog deaths
Poor veterinary
care
Mushers
mistreat their dogs during race
Dog injuries,
sicknesses and extreme stress
Problems
with Iditarod rules
Greed
fuels the Iditarod
Cruel
dog training
 |
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