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A Kid's Thoughts

Poor veterinary care

Veterinarians do not pull sick and injured dogs from the Iditarod

Jokes or cover-ups?

No veterinary physical exams given at checkpoints

Does the chief vet have a short memory?

Veterinarians cannot get to checkpoints

Veterinarians get sick

Sick and injured dogs suffer between checkpoints without vet care

Veterinarians are sleep deprived

Sleep deprived vets have greatly impaired mental functioning

Dropped sick and injured dogs receive inadequate vet care, tied outside with no shelter

Prison inmate gives medication to sick and injured dogs

Mushers can override vets and force sick and injured dogs to race

Do veterinarians act to prevent drug use?

No specific dog to veterinarian ratio required

Vets ignore symptoms of dying dogs

Vet gives musher veto power over medication

"Where's the vet?"

Mushers told how to avoid detection of prohibited medications

Bitter cold kept veterinarian from checking dogs

Iditarod veterinarians violate oath


Veterinarians do not pull sick and injured dogs from the Iditarod


At Rainy Pass checkpoint, Rick Swenson told vets his dogs had a virus:

"Veterinarians in Rainy Pass on Wednesday, a checkpoint 176 miles before McGrath, said that [Rick] Swenson had talked about his dogs picking up a virus."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 10, 2005


Rick Swenson arrived at Rainy Pass with 16 dogs and left with 16:

2005 Iditarod - Rainy Pass Checkpoint

Musher	Time In	Dogs In	Time Out	Dogs Out	Rest Time
Rick Swenson	3/07/2005 17:56	16	3/07/2005 18:00	16	00:04

- Iditarod website, 2005


QUESTIONS:

1) Why didn't the vets pull the sick dogs from the race?
2) Swenson stayed at the Rainy Pass checkpoint for four minutes. Did the vets give his dogs physical examinations?
3) Why didn't Swenson leave his sick dogs at the checkpoint?


Vet doesn't pull injured dog from the race:

Veterinarian: "Get some povidone-iodine. Beta iodine."

DeeDee Jonrowe, holding a dog's leg: "OK."

Veterinarian: "Beta iodine. Then I think it would probably be better to wrap it. It's been cold all this time so it doesn't stiffen up on him while he's going to be racing."

DeeDee Jonrowe: "OK."

Veterinarian: "Wrap it."

DeeDee Jonrowe: "Wrap it with a hot pack?"

Veterinarian: "Yes."

DeeDee Jonrowe, taping the dog's leg: "OK."

Veterinarian: "Tape it more."

Sound of the dog crying.

- Outdoor Life Network (OLN), Kaltag checkpoint, Iditarod, 2005

DeeDee Jonrowe arrived at the Kaltag checkpoint with 12 dogs and left with 12 dogs.

- Iditarod website, 2005


Veterinarians do not pull Steve Madsen's sick dogs from race:

"Some of the dogs had been sick with diarrhea and treated at a prior checkpoint. They showed little spark after that.

Battling the winds, Madsen could practically see their body fat melting off."

- Kay Richardson, The Columbian, April 16, 2006


Veterinarian doesn't pull Rachael Scdoris' sick dogs from race:

"Their diarrhea had not improved and I could tell they were not as healthy as at the start of the race. Although they drank as much as the other dogs they were becoming dehydrated. If the medication did not kick in, they would begin to lose weight and the physical strain of running would take them down even faster. I was concerned enough that I called the veterinarian's attention to it. He gave me more medication."

- Scdoris, Rachael and Steber, Rick. No End in Sight: My Life as a Blind Iditarod Racer, New York: St. Martin's Griffin, 2007


Veterinarians let Ed Iten race sick dogs and give him vet's Humanitarian Award:

"Considering his dogs struggles with diarrhea from Day 2 of the Iditarod all the way to his 24-hour stop in the ghost town of Iditarod, he's [Ed Iten's] pleased. 'I saw my first turd today,' he said."

- Kevin Klott, Anchorage Daily News, March 11, 2007

(The 2007 Iditarod started on March 3. After the 2007 Iditarod, the veterinary staff gave Ed Iten its Humanitarian Award. - Iditarod website, 2007)


Veterinarians don't pull James Warren's sick dogs from race:

"Raven's shoulder was sore but they allowed me to take her with the promise of carrying her if she got worse."

- James Warren talking about Iditarod veterinarians
- James Warren, Iditarod '06 Journal, published on the Internet


"The dogs I had left were not the strongest. Among them was 38 lb Utah who was still sick and hardly pulling."

"Utah was feverish and was marginal at best." "I shifted to Utah and claimed that Utah's fever may be a normal temperature for her and pointed out she wasn't dehydrated. They [the veterinarians] relented and left her in the team with the promise of checking her in Ophir."

- James Warren's report on what happened at the Takotna checkpoint
- James Warren, Iditarod '06 Journal, published on the Internet


Ophir to Cripple to Ruby:

"When time came to feed and get ready to go I found they were definitely very sick and not thrilled about running. I thought if I got them into Cripple I could nurse them through the illness with the help of the vets."

"With meds from the vet I medicated the dogs."

"Cripple to Ruby was nearly a disaster." "I struggled for mile after mile. The dogs were sick."

- Warren, James and Warren, Christopher. Following My Father's Dream, James and Christopher Warren, 2005


Jokes or cover-ups?

Chief vet claims that vets inspect all dogs at all checkpoints:

"Which is why the Iditarod Trail Committee sends four to seven vets to each checkpoint and inspects every dog when a team arrives, [Stuart] Nelson said."

- Joel Gay, Anchorage Daily News, March 16, 2005

[Look at the statistics published on this page under "No veterinary physical exams given at checkpoints." What kind of "inspection" do individual dogs get when teams breeze through checkpoints? Sometimes the mushers don't even stop.]


Chief vet claims dropped dogs not seriously injured:

"'The dropped dogs are not seriously injured,' [Karin] Schmidt said."

- Karin Schmidt was Iditarod chief veterinarian
- Peter S. Goodman, Anchorage Daily News, March 29, 1995

[The injuries Iditarod dogs have suffered from includes paralysis, ruptured discs, and what the Associated Press described as a "severe neck injury."]


No veterinary physical exams given at checkpoints

Mushers spending little time at checkpoints is evidence dogs don't get check-ups:

Andrea Flyod-Wilson: "And, that brings up the question, and I've looked through the Iditarod rules pretty closely. There is a whole bunch of stuff there about veterinarian checks before the race and during the course of the race."

Dr. Paula Kislak: "My understanding is that the Iditarod Trail Committee rules do not require veterinarians to give the dogs physical examinations at the checkpoints Many of the mushers spend less than five minutes at the checkpoints. This would certainly be inadequate time and evidence of the fact that they're not getting check-ups. The veterinary care that's being required by the Iditarod Trail Committee is completely inadequate."

- Andrea Floyd-Wilson is the host of the All About Animals Radio Show. On February 23, 2003, she interviewed Paula Kislak, DVM, President of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights.


Top teams not getting exams for dogs:

"[Mitch] Seavey asked how many mushers got to Nome without having exams at every checkpoint. [Stuart Nelson] noted that many of the top teams are passing thought checkpoints without stopping."

- Stuart Nelson is the Iditarod's chief veterinarian
- Mitch Seavey is an Iditarod musher and member of the Iditarod Board of Directors
- Minutes of the Iditarod Board meeting, April 23, 2004

Teams skip a checkpoint:

"Most of the 87 dog teams in this year's race apparently opted to skip the first checkpoint, Yentna."

- Jon Little, Cabelas website, March 8, 2004
- Little was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and was an Iditarod musher


Checkpoint closed:

"The checkpoint was closed when Barry [Lee] mushed into the village on the morning of March 13."

- O'Donoghue, Brian Patrick. My Lead Dog was a Lesbian, New York:Vintage Books, 1996
- O'Donoghue was a reporter for the Fairbanks News-Miner


Musher speeds through checkpoint without getting physical examinations for his dogs:

"Buser reached Nulato at 4:30 a.m. Saturday. He paused for 2 minutes, just long enough to drop a dog at the checkpoint."

- Maureen Clark, Associated Press, March 9, 2002


Musher thinks about blowing through checkpoints:

"One [rookie] cornered me recently and peppered me with questions like, 'What happens if I want to blow through a checkpoint: Will the dogs just want to lie down?' Answer: Not if they are trained to run through checkpoints."

- Jon Little, Cabelas website, March 7, 2004
- Little is a former reporter with the Anchorage Daily News and was an Iditarod musher


Dogs are pushed to race without being given veterinary physical exams:

[Some dogs may have been suffering from joint and muscle pains, injuries or illnesses.]


A sample of the data from the 2004 Iditarod (Source: Iditarod website)

Name of musher	Checkpoint	Number of dogs arriving at checkpoint	Minutes at checkpoint
Mitch Seavey	McGrath	14	0:02
Martin Buser	Tokotna	14	0:02
Aliy Zirkle	Rainy Pass	15	0:02
Ray Redington, Jr.	Tokotna	14	0:00
Frank Sihler	Kaltag	14	0:05
Mark Moderow	Galena	14	0:00
Randy Chappel	Finger Lake	16	0:01
Ramy Brooks	Elim	9	0:01
Rick Swenson	Safety	14	0:03
Charlie Boulding	Nulato	12	0:03
Paul Gebhart	Finger Lake	16	0:01

A sample of the data from the 2003 Iditarod (Source: Iditarod website)

Name of musher	Checkpoint	Number of dog arriving at checkpoint	Time at checkpoint
Jon Little	Ruby	15	00:00
Cali King	Nenana	15	00:00
Martin Buser	Nulato	14	00:00
Sonny Lindner	Grayling 1	12	00:00
Ali Zirkle	Grayling 1	12	00:00
Mitch Seavey	Manley	16	00:01
Jessica Hendricks	Anvik	11	00:00
Robert Bundtzen	Galena	12	00:03
Randy Chappel	Nenana	16	00:00
Rick Swenson	Anvik	14	00:01
Linwood Fiedler	Grayling 2	9	00:00

A sample of the data from the 2002 Iditarod (Source: Iditarod website)

Name of musher	Checkpoint	Number of dogs arriving at checkpoint	Time at checkpoint
Martin Buser	Nikolai	14	00:00
Keith Aili	Rohn	16	00:00
Ramy Brooks	Elim	8	00:02
Ramy Brooks	Rohn	15	00:06
DeeDee Jonrowe	McGrath	14	00:02
Linwood Fiedler	McGrath	12	00:06
Linwood Fiedler	Ophir	11	00:01
Al Hardman	McGrath	16	00:02
Ramey Smyth	Elim	8	00:03
Charlie Boulding	Kaltag	11	00:05
Jim Gallea	Rainy Pass	16	00:03

A sample of the data from the 2001 Iditarod (Source: Iditarod website)

Name of musher	Checkpoint	Number of dogs arriving at checkpoint	Time at checkpoint
Doug Swingley	Ophir	13	00:00
Doug Swingley	Grayling	12	00:01
DeeDee Jonrowe	McGrath	12	00:01
DeeDee Jonrowe	Anvik	11	00:02
Jeff King	Ophir	11	00:04
Rick Swenson	Ophir	15	00:02
Tim Osmar	Finger Lake	16	00:03
Ramy Brooks	Rohn	15	00:05
Jon Little	Ophir	13	00:03
Rick Mackey	Anvik	12	00:02
Robert Bundtzen	McGrath	15	00:03

Did the veterinarians at the checkpoint ever exam Brutus?

"When leaving the Nikolai checkpoint, leader Brutus began limping badly so I stopped the team before we got of the checkpoint."

- Warren, James and Warren, Christopher. Following My Father's Dream, James and Christopher Warren, 2005

Back to the top

Does chief vet have a short memory?

"For the first time in recent memory, mushers pulled into a checkpoint before veterinarians arrived to monitor their dogs.

'To not have a vet there is a foreign concept to me,' head veterinarian Dr. Stuart Nelson Jr. said from Nome, where late Tuesday afternoon he was still scrambling to get vets to White Mountain, 77 miles to the east."

- Joel Gay, Anchorage Daily News, March 16, 2005

[Look under the heading below, "Veterinarians cannot get to checkpoints." You'll read about vets not being able to get to the Cripple checkpoint and about checkpoint staffing problems during the 2004 Iditarod.]


Veterinarians cannot get to checkpoints

Storm blocks access to Cripple checkpoint:

"The same weather that probably was slowing those two [mushers] also made it difficult to keep tabs on them. No aircraft risked flying into the storm clouds blocking access to Cripple on Wednesday. Race officials, veterinarians and simple reporters like me all were turned back."

- Jon Little, Cabelas website, March 10, 2004
- Little was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and was an Iditarod musher


Checkpoints understaffed:

"[Stuart] Nelson commented that staffing checkpoints became an issue at some points during the race. Flying conditions were marginal and some personnel were delayed a full day because of that."

- Stuart Nelson is the Iditarod's chief veterinarian
- Minutes of the Iditarod Board meeting, April 23, 2004


Veterinarians get sick

25% have Norovirus:

"He [Stuart Nelson] said that 25% of the veterinarians were infected by the Norovirus."

- Stuart Nelson is the Iditarod's chief veterinarian
- Minutes of the Iditarod Board meeting, April 23, 2004


- Norovirus:

"The symptoms of norovirus illness usually include nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and some stomach cramping. Sometimes people additionally have a low-grade fever, chills, headache, muscle aches, and a general sense of tiredness. The illness often begins suddenly, and the infected person may feel very sick."

"Noroviruses are very contagious and can spread easily from person to person. Both stool and vomit are infectious."

"People infected with norovirus are contagious from the moment they begin feeling ill to at least 3 days after recovery. Some people may be contagious for as long as 2 weeks after recovery."

"Currently, there is no antiviral medication that works against norovirus and there is no vaccine to prevent infection. Norovirus infection cannot be treated with antibiotics. This is because antibiotics work to fight bacteria and not viruses."

- Dept. of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control, website article, 2004


Veterinarian gets pneumonia:

"He [veterinarian Dr. Jim Brick] headed to Alaska for the first time in 1999 and, for several years, served on the race trail as a check point vet. But, one year, while volunteering in that capacity in came down with pneumonia and had to hole up for seven days in a tent on a frozen river."

- John Lowe, The Daily Jeffersonian, March 2, 2008


Sick and injured dogs suffer between checkpoints without vet care

Veterinarians are only stationed at checkpoints. Consequently, when dogs become sick or are injured in remote areas, they do not get help from anyone who is knowledgeable about canine medical care. Dogs may be in agony for many miles. (The Iditarod does not require mushers to take classes or be certified in canine first aid.)

Distance between some checkpoints:

Cripple to Ruby	112 miles
Kaltag to Unalakleet	90 miles
Rohn to Nikolai	75 miles
Ophir to Iditarod	90 miles
Iditarod to Shageluk	65 miles
Shaktoolik to Koyuk	58 miles
Grayling to Eagle Island	60 miles

- Checkpoint distances are from the Iditarod's website


Veterinarians are sleep deprived

"As soon as mushers started streaming in, [Randy] Parent explained, that veterinarian wouldn't be able to get more than an hour or two of sleep through about three days of racing."

- Randy Parent has been the checker at the Kaltag checkpoint for six years
- John Little, Cabelas website, March 14, 2003
- Little was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News and was an Iditarod musher

Sleep deprived vets have greatly impaired mental functioning

What are the effects of sleep deprivation?
From Susan E. Conner, Ph.D., Caltech, Assistant Director, Counseling Center:

- Mood shifts, including depression, increased irritability
- Stress, anxiety and loss of sense of humor
- Reduced immunity to disease and viral infection
- Impaired memory functioning
- Reduced ability to handle complex tasks
- Reduced ability to think logically, critically
- Reduced ability to analyze new information
- Reduced decision-making skills and vocabulary
- Reduced motor skills and coordination—more likely to have an accident
- In more severe cases of sleep deprivation, individuals may become disoriented, hallucinate or become psychotic.

- Caltech website, 2002


Lack of sleep makes it difficult to do even mundane acts:

"A lack of sleep makes it difficult to carry out even mundane acts, such as conversing intelligibly or calculating a waiter's tip.""A lack of sleep makes it difficult to carry out even mundane acts, such
- B. Bower, Science News, February 12, 2000


Dropped sick and injured dogs receive inadequate veterinary care, tied outside with no shelter


Dropped dogs who may be sick are sent to a prison:

"Trail Fact: A record 44 inmates from the Hiland Mountain/Meadow Creek correctional centers in Eagle River have volunteered to care for dogs dropped from race teams, Superintendent Dean Marshall said. Dogs dropped from teams at checkpoints before the midway point of the race are flown to Anchorage and then taken to the prison for tending until the mushers retrieve them."

- Associated Press, Fairbanks News-Miner, March 7, 2005


"The pilots ferry dropped dogs back to Anchorage, where volunteers take the animals to the Eagle River Correctional Center; there, inmates feed, water and care for canines until their owners return from the trail."

- Rennick, Penny, ed. The Iditarod, Anchorage: Alaska Geographic, 2001


"As soon as possible, these dogs are flown to dropped-dog hub checkpoints and from there to facilities at either Eagle River [near Anchorage] or Nome. At Eagle River, the minimum-security inmates and their supervisors at Hiland Mountain and Meadow Creek Correctional Center care for dogs dropped from the race."

- Hood, Mary. A Fan's Guide to the Iditarod, Loveland: Alpine Publications, 1996

Sick dog gets no vet care after leaving checkpoint and dies:

"Little from Kasilof, a reporter for the Daily News, left the dog [Carhartt] in the care of Iditarod handlers Tuesday because it looked tired and wasn't eating well."

"Iditarod executive director Stan Hooley said the dog had been flown to Anchorage on Wednesday by volunteers of the Iditarod Air Force. It was kept overnight and into the day at Eagle River's Hiland Mountain Correctional Center, where inmates tend dropped dogs."

"The dog was signed our of Hiland Mountain late Thursday by Melissa DeVaughn, an experienced musher and co-worker of Little's."

"She found it dead in her yard Friday morning."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 10, 2001


Sick and injured dogs tied outside with no shelter in pouring rain:

"Another call was a complaint on the dropped dogs from the Iditarod. They are taken to the Highland Correctional Center and were tied out there with no shelter and it was pouring rain.

As we have always said, "LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES"

- Alaska SPCA website, March 12, 2005


Prison inmate gives medication to sick and injured dogs

"If there's any medication that needs to be done, the lead dog handler takes care of that. And just interact with them, socialize with 'em," says Hiland Mountain housing supervisor David Beaulieu."

- Angela Unruh KTUU-TV, Anchorage, KTUU.com, March 14, 2005


"The outdoor area set aside for the dogs is capable of housing about 60 dogs, who are cared for 24 hours a day by two different shifts of inmates, McCafferty said."

- Sgt. Rick McCafferty is a Hiland Mountain Correctional Center supervisor
- Mary M. Rall, Alaska Star, March 15, 2007

Mushers can override vets and force sick and injured dogs to race

Vets do not have the authority to exclude sick and injured dogs from the race:

"...I've been able to keep a couple of dogs in the team the vets thought I should drop."

- Bowers, Don. Back of the Pack, Anchorage: Publication Consultants, 2000
- Iditarod rules, Iditarod website


"The checkpoint's vet has recommended sending Pig [Land's lead dog] back to Anchorage, too. 'He yanked on my dogs' joints and poked hard at their muscles,' Land gripes. 'But he just doesn't have the sensibility to tell me what I can do with Pig." "... Land decides she will chance it [keeping Pig in the race].

Bill Donahue, "Sit. Stay. Fetch." Sports Illustrated Women, December, 2002


"Peryll Kyzer is nursing her dogs along, including one vets advised her to drop in Nikolai."

- Alaska Public Radio Network, 1997 Iditarod audio files

Do veterinarians act to prevent drug use?

Iditarod Rule 20 says "dogs are subject to the collection of urine or blood samples, at the discretion of the testing veterinarian." The purpose of this rule is to guard against mushers giving their dogs illegal performance enhancing drugs. However, there are no statistics about how many dogs were tested and what the results were. It's possible that in any given year no dogs were tested for drugs.

- Iditarod website, Race Rules


No specific dog to veterinarian ratio required

Iditarod Dog Care Measures call for a "staff of 35 veterinarians, including five rookies annually." Chief Iditarod veterinarian Stu Nelson said, "We strive to have 35 trail veterinarians." The Iditarod administration does not require a specific dog to veterinarian ratio, so that more dogs racing do not result in more veterinarians on the trail.

- Information on the number of veterinarians comes from the Iditarod website, 2004


Vets ignore symptoms of dying dogs


THE STORY OF BURMEISTER'S DOG YELLOWKNIFE

- Noah Burmeister's dog Yellowknife dies of acute pneumonia:

"The gross necropsy performed on Yellowknife, the 4 year old male from the team of Noah Burmeister which died earlier today, has been completed. According to the board certified veterinary pathologist who conducted the necropsy, preliminary findings indicate that the cause of death was an acute pneumonia."

- Iditarod Advisory, Iditarod website, March 9, 2006


- Veterinarians at checkpoint thought Yellowknife was healthy:

"'I was in Rainy Pass when I noticed he wasn't feeling well,' said the 26-year-old musher who divides his time between Nome and Nenana. 'I had one of the vets (veterinarians) look at him. The vets couldn't find anything (wrong).'

With an OK from the canine medical authorites who work each checkpoint along the course of the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome, Burmeister made the decision to keep the dog in his team and head up and over the Iditarod high point of Rainy Pass at 3,160 feet. 'After I got done with my rest [at Rainy Pass], I headed up into the (Dalzell) Gorge and he was doing good until all of a sudden he tipped over,' Burmeiser said."

- Kevin Klott, Anchorage Daily News, March 9, 2006
(There are 48 miles between the Rainy Pass and Rohn checkpoints.)


THE STORY OF BACKEN'S DOG TAKK WHO HAD ULCERS AND DIED

First, read about canine ulcer symptoms:

Ulcer symptoms include: "borborygmus, inappetence, emesis, and abdominal discomfort or pain. The presence of ulcer disease may be associated with hematemesis, melena, and chronic weight loss."

- Michigan Veterinary Specialist Newsletter, Vol2 Issue 1, website article

[Terms: Borborygmus: Bowel sounds, the gurgling, rumbling, or growling noise from the abdomen; Emesis: Vomiting; Hematemesis: The medical term for bloody vomitus;
Melena: Stools or vomit stained black by blood pigment or dark blood products; Inappetence: Lack of desire or appetite]


"Symptoms: intermittent fever, general fatigue, vomiting and gagging, inability to keep down food or fluids --resulting in eventual weight loss of over 40% of body weight, then chronic fatigue -with no energy to stand up, internal bleeding in the stomach and intestines (evident by black stools). He may vomit as much as 12-15 times per day."

- David Galloway, Houston Chronicle, March 12, 2000
- David Galloway is a content supervisor and columnist for the Houston Chronicle


- Vets were at the checkpoint when Backen and Takk arrived:

"Kjetil Backen, the first musher up the Yukon River, was due in any time and one of the veterinarians was catching a mid-afternoon nap."

- Jon Little, Cabela's website, March 14, 2004
- Jon Little was formerly a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News


- Takk is only diagnosed with a sore wrist on March 14:

"[Kjetil] Backen arrived in Kaltag [checkpoint] at 2:22 p.m. Saturday and six hours later he was still there."

"Takk, which means thank you in Norwegian, had a sore wrist."

"Because the dog's wrist was sore, he was not pulling well, Backen said."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 14, 2004


- Takk drops dead the next day:

"As the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race moved to the Bering Sea coast on Sunday, disaster struck on almost all levels for front-running Kjetil Backen when his lead dog Takk fell dead within a mile of the checkpoint.

The dog, race marshal Mark Nordman said, 'just sad down and died right there.'"

- Joel Gay and Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 15, 2004


Takk, according to Iditarod officials, died of blood loss associated with gastric ulcers.

- Jeff Jacobs, Hartford Courant, March 18, 2004


THE STORY OF PAUL GEBHARDT'S DOG RITA WHO BLED INTERNALLY FROM ULCERS AND DIED

- Gebhardt is the first musher to arrive at Anik checkpoint:

" Part of Gebhardt's reward for getting there first [Anik] was this feast: king crab thermidore, smoked tomatoes and feta with balsamic vinaigrette, braised musk ox and shiitake mushroom stew, key lime sorbet, buffalo tenderloin with Madeira peppercorn sauce, smoked salmon Napoleon, and a vanilla ice cream dessert rolled in toasted coconut in a pool of butter rum sauce, drizzled with flaming Grand Marnier."

- News staff, Anchorage Daily News, March 12, 2005


- Distance from Anchorage to Anik:

"672 miles"

- Iditarod website, 2005


- Rita dies 30 minutes after leaving Anik and vets are baffled:

"Half an hour after a 24-hour rest in the checkpoint of Anvik, a dog in the team of musher Paul Gebhardt of Kasilof died on Saturday, the first to perish in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.

Veterinarians say they are baffled.

Gebhardt, Iditarod officials reported, was just out of Anvik on the 20-mile trail to Grayling when the dog dropped in its traces."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, March 12, 2005


[Rita bled internally from ulcers and died. Iditarod rules require mushers to take two eight hour layovers and one 24 hour layover in a race that's 1,150 miles and spans 8 to 15 days. The remainder of the time the dogs may be racing. Rita died 30 minutes outside Anvik, a checkpoint where Gebhardt took his 24 layover. Did the vets ignore Rita's symptoms? Didn't Rita get a physical exam? Wasn't she observed? Do the vets know what the symptoms of ulcers are?]


Pattaroni's dog dies from undiagnosed ulcer:

"Unknown to Pattaroni, or any of the veterinarians at the checkpoints along the trail, the dog had developed a bleeding ulcer. The ulcer caused it to cough up bits of food and stomach lining. This bacteria-laden material, in turn, was inhaled by the dog and ended up in its lungs, causing what doctors call ''aspiration pneumonia'' -- a deadly lung infection."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, April 19, 1997


THE STORY OF SWINGLEY'S DOG NELLIE WHO DIED FROM INTUSSUSCEPTION AND PNEUMONIA

- Nellie diagnosed with acute pneumonia:

"Nellie was dropped in Elim on Tuesday, March 15 at a little after 8 a.m. and was transported to Nome early Wednesday afternoon for further treatment related to acute pneumonia. She was transported yesterday evening from Nome to Anchorage for follow up care. Nellie died unexpectedly at approximately 5 a.m. this morning."

- Iditarod advisory, Thursday, March 17, 2005, Iditarod website

[According to Iditarod rules, dropped dogs who are flown to Anchorage go to the Hiland Mountain/Meadow Creek correctional centers in Eagle River.]


- Nellie also had a double intussusception:

"A gross necropsy has been completed on 'Nellie,' a two-year old female from the team of Montana musher Doug Swingley. The initial results indicate that Nellie had a double intussusception." "In addition, Nellie was being treated for acute pneumonia."

- Iditarod website, 2005


Read what the Merck Veterinary Manual says about intussusception. Did the vets ignore Nellie's symptoms? When Nellie got to the prison was she examined by a vet?

"Pathophysiology: Intussusception tends to occur when one segment of the intestine is hypermotile. It may also occur with mass lesions (eg, tumors, granulomas, or scars) that become fixed and tend to get thrust into an adjacent lumen of intestine. The most common area for this to occur is the ileocecocolic junction, where the smaller segment of ileum may slide into the larger lumen of the colon.

Distention with gas and fluid occurs proximal to the obstruction. Strangulation or incarceration of bowel occurs with entrapment of intestinal loops in hernias or mesentery. Venous return is impaired although arterial supply remains intact, leading to venous congestion, anoxia, and, necrosis. Loss of blood into the intestinal lumen and peritoneal cavity and the subsequent emigration of bacteria and toxins from the devitalized tissue ensues. The most common toxin-producing bacteria are Escherichia coli and clostridia.

Grossly, wall edema and hemorrhage and mucosal sloughing are apparent within 1-3 hr. After 4 hr, the affected segment of intestine is turgid, and whole blood collects within the lumen. At 8-2 hr, the affected gut appears black, distended, and elongated. Gross necrosis is evident by 20 hr.

Clinical Findings: Clinical signs of small-intestinal obstruction may include lethargy, anorexia, vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal distention, fever or subnormal body temperature, dehydration, and shock. Gaseous bowel distention occurs within the initial 12-35 hr after obstruction and is followed by the loss of fluid into the intestinal lumen. Without treatment, death due to hypovolemia ensues within 3-4 days.

Upper or duodenal obstruction tends to present as frequent vomiting. In general, the closer the obstruction to the pylorus, the more severe the vomiting. Obstruction of the lower small intestine (eg, distal jejunum and ileum) is infrequently associated with vomiting. Lethargy, anorexia, weight loss, and ultimate starvation in untreated dogs lead to death within >3 wk.

Intussusception may result in luminal obstruction, mucosal congestion, or infarction, depending on the length of the intussusception and the size of the intestinal loops involved. Clinical signs vary and may include vomiting, abdominal pain, and scant bloody diarrhea. In more chronic cases of intussusception, diarrhea with or without blood is seen. Intussusception is more common in young dogs (< 6-8 mo old)."

- The Merck Veterinary Manual, website, 2005


Joe Redington Sr's dog dies soon after vet exam from vitamin E deficiency:

"Only one of the five dogs showed any signs of a problem before its death, said Stuart Nelson, Iditarod chief veterinarian. That dog belonged to Joe Redington Sr., who noticed an odd gait in one of his dogs and asked a vet to examine it in Nikolai.

The doctor did a thorough exam, found nothing wrong and assured Redington it was OK to keep the dog in the team. The animal died less than 50 miles down the trail on the way into McGrath and was one of the three dogs later found to be vitamin E deficient."

- Craig Medred, Anchorage Daily News, April 19, 1997


Vet gives musher veto power over medication

"Veterinarian: 'We are not putting him on anything for that diarrhea unless you'd like us to.'

Lance Mackey: 'I don't think it's necessary.'"

- Outdoor Life Network (OLN), Iditarod, 2005


"Where's the vet?"

Martin Buser arriving at Nikolai checkpoint: "I need a vet. I need a vet."

Checker: "He needs a vet."

Martin Buser: "I need a vet."

Checker: "Hey Bob, is there a vet in there?"

Martin Buser: "Where's the vet?"

- Outdoor Life Network (OLN), Nikolai checkpoint, Iditarod, 2005

There was no vet outside to give the dogs even a brief visual check when mushers zipped through the checkpoint.


Chief vet tells mushers how to avoid detection of prohibited medications

"All prohibited drugs must be out of the dogs system at the time of the pre-Race veterinary check. Most anti-inflammatories such as pherrylbutazone and aspirin, which may be used on an injured dog during training are out of the system by 72 hours after they are given. To give a wide safety margin, I recommend that you discontinue all prohibited medications 2 weeks before the start of the Race unless they have been authorized by the head veterinarian."

- Chief Iditarod veterinarian, Karin Schmidt, DVM
- 1994 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Musher's/Veterinarian's Handbook


Bitter cold kept veterinarian from checking dogs

"Buser arrived in Cripple at 1:49 a.m., two hours before veterinarian Scott Moore of Cody, Wyo., was beginning his 3:30 shift. Moore couldn't sleep because it was minus 42 outside.

'We were walking around, doing our checks and my feet went numb," Moore said. "They hurt like hell. I went back inside the wall tent, figuring it ain't worth losing my feet over a voluntary position.'"

- Kevin Klott, Anchorage Daily News, March 12, 2006
- Cripple was a checkpoint in the 2006 Iditarod.

(Why didn't the vet bring the dogs inside the checkpoint shelter for their exams?)


Iditarod veterinarians violate oath

Janice Blue: "I have to ask what is the code for veterinarians in animal medicine? What are you supposed to be, what is your mission, or oath that you all take? Because aren't there veterinarians at these checkpoints? And, how are they allowing this to happen?"

Dr. Paula Kislak: "Well that's a good question. Of course, the oath that we take is primarily like human medical doctors to above all do no harm and to protect the well being, and health and welfare of the animals. And that's impossible to do under these circumstances. There are no requirements for checkups. Some of the mushers stop at checkpoints for less than five minutes, and there are multiple dogs and multiple mushers, and there's no way that a single veterinarian that may be at a checkpoint would be checking these animals up. There's no requirement to do so, and it obviously isn't done, given the fact that the mushers may be there five minutes or less, and they may have eight or 10 dogs, and there may be many mushers. So, that's just a physical impossibility. It's not being done and it's not being required to be done, so the welfare of the animals is not being looked after.

Then, you add on top of that the veterinary association that oversees the race is the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association, and it's an industry organization. It's an organization of veterinarians that's completely associated and intertwined with the racers, and they stand to gain financially from the race industry. And it's completely incestuous in terms of their being supported by the race industry, so they have no incentive to call out the racers on their abuses of animals, because their livelihood depends on the racers and the Iditarod race."

- Janice Blue is host of the radio program Go Vegan Texas, KPFT
- Dr. Paula Kislak, DVM, is the president of the Association of Veterinarians for Animal Rights
- The interview was done on February 27, 2006


Back to the top

Articles about the Iditarod

Dog deaths

Mushers mistreat their dogs during race

Dog injuries, sicknesses and extreme stress

Problems with Iditarod rules

Greed fuels the Iditarod

Abuse in kennels

Cruel dog training

Iditarod history

 

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