Alaska’s Iditarod Dog Race Kills 5 Dogs

The 2009 Alaska dog sled race has ended with the highest death rate for dogs who participated in the Iditarod Dog Race.  Animal activists are protesting the inhumane treatment of the dogs that run in minus 50 degree weather for 1,100 miles.  The dogs run at 80 miles per hour and many face certain death in blizzards and storms along the route.

One racer Lou Packer raced through a challenging windy storm with deep snow that hid the trail markers but he did complete the race.
Packer mentioned he put clothing on the dogs and fed them cooked foods. Tracked by his wife at home through the Iditarod website she knew that there was a problem when his tracking showed no progress or his speed was slowing down. One of Packers dogs by the name of Grasshopper became lethargic and eventually died.

Another dog died later and Packer himself got frostbitten in his eyes.

Alaska Dog Sled Race Videos

The Alaska dog racing began nearly 40 years ago and since then 146 dogs have died pulling sleds 1,000 miles in sub zero weather.
Iditarod spokesperson Chas St. George said that in 1985 12 dogs died in a blizzard during a race which if you are a dog lover -one dog’s death in a pleasure sport is too many.

The dogs most often die from gastric ulcers no doubt due to the enormous stress put on their bodies and the freezing conditions must also  be a factor in their deaths. When dogs get ulcers it is indicative of high stress and reinforces the public outcry of this type of dog racing.  Two other dogs died of pulmonary edema the Anchorage Daily News reported. The edema was possibly caused by the cardiac irregularity stopped their hearts  from moving fluid out of the dog’s lungs .

A spokesperson from the Human Society Dave Pauli the Western Regional Director would like to see this race continue to celebrate the history and culture of Alaska.  Even Dr. Packer says he will continue with Iditarod even though he put his own dogs through tremendous amounts of stress and watched two of his dogs die in front of him.

Over 1,000 dogs each year must complete this race and the Human Society has given up on protesting it or has sided with the race. PETA has requested a criminal investigation by the Alaska State and Debbie Leahy the director indicates it is 1,000 miles of torture for the dogs with little regard to the dogs health.

PETA spokesperson Desiree Acholla indicated they were mounting a letter writing campaign to persuade sponsors to withdraw their support form Iditarod.

Two of those companies are Exxon Mobil and Wells Fargo who still continue to support the race financially through their sponsorships.
Officials at Iditarod made no response to PETA‘s request.

TAGS:  Alaska Iditarod Dog Race Kills 5 Dogs, dog health, dog sledding, dog race, Iditarod, Alaska dog sled race, Exxon Mobil, Wells Fargo, PETA, Desiree Acholla, Iditarod sponsorships by Exxon Mobil, Wells Fargo sponsors Iditarod dog sled race, Alaska Iditarod, dog healths.