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Alaskan Husky abuse and neglect in 2008 Iditarod.

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Khuno

Chain free is- the way to be!
 
 
Barked: Sat Mar 8, '08 11:09am PST 
So far, in this year's Iditarod, (as of 12:00 PM EST on March 8th 2008): Four mushers have dropped out of the race because their dogs became too injured and/or sick to continue. One musher was involuntarily eliminated from the race because she lost two of her dogs during the 48 mile run from Rainy Pass to Rohn. She left those two dogs alone in the Alaskan wilderness to fend for themselves while she continued to the next checkpoint, where she was then disqualified for arriving without all of her dogs. One dog has died: a seven-year-old dog named Zaster died on March 8th while being treated for pneumonia. What a needless death.
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Fun On The- Run Kennel- Racing

'10 Junior- Iditarod, 6th- place!		 
 
Barked: Sun Mar 9, '08 1:13am PST 
Before you get all upset...there were 1,536 dogs that started the race. I bet that in normal life 1 dog out of 1536 in a two week period would die a normal humane death! And the girl who lost her dogs found them again. And the guy whose dog died scratched from the race. It is not abuse because the dogs love to run and get depressed when they do not run. Just think...you cannot push a rope!

I personally love dog sled racing and it really bothers me when people say it is crue to "force" dogs to run when you can not make a dog run more than it is capable of! If a dog gets tired they are put in the sled and given some rest and most likely dropped at the next checkpoint.

I completed over a thousand miles of training and racing this year and I am totally happy and proud of my dogs! Some of those race miles included the Junior iditarod too.

Meredith
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Fuzzy- Huskies Dog- Team

'09 Jr. Yukon- Quest- Red Lantern!		 
 
Barked: Thu Mar 13, '08 5:01pm PST 
It seems to me that scratching because your dogs are sick or tired is the RIGHT thing to do. Would you rather have them continue on?

Loosing a dog is horrible. When a dog runs off, you get that inevitable stomach-dropping sensation. Any owner of a sled dog type breed knows that these guys want to run so much that they will take off if given a chance.

When they go, they go. Going after the dogs would be impossible- you can't expect a team of dogs to flounder through waist-deep snow and expect to catch a dog running loose. Going to the next checkpoint allowed her to notify the race, and then people in the area could begin looking out for the dogs, and people on snowmachines could search for the dogs.

(I also want to note, that in a long distance race, 48 miles is nothing. With an average team, you can do that in around 5 or 6 hours).

Don't forget that we're talking about Alaskan huskies. They are not a house pet. They are very independent and resourceful dogs, and know about being out in the wilderness. I'm not saying that they need to fend for themselves, but if they have to, I'm sure that they'll be a whole lot better off than Neighbor Joe's grossly overweight pound dog that hasn't seen any woods except the tree in his backyard.

Edited by author Thu Mar 13, '08 5:02pm PST

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Mikoa

Learning to- trust again.
 
 
Barked: Fri Mar 14, '08 6:02am PST 
UPDATED POSTING

So far, in this year's Iditarod (as of March 14th 2008): Ten mushers have dropped out of the race because their dogs became too injured and/or sick to continue. One musher (Kim Franklin) was involuntarily eliminated from the race because she lost two of her dogs during the 48 mile run from Rainy Pass to Rohn. She left those two dogs alone in the Alaskan wilderness to fend for themselves while she continued to the next checkpoint, where she was then disqualified for arriving without all of her dogs. The first death this year has occured in the team of John Stetson: a seven-year-old dog named Zaster died on March 8th from aspiration pneumonia.The second death this year has occured in the team of Jennifer Freking: a three-year-old dog named Lorne died after being struck by a snowmobile on March 10th. The third death this year has occured in the team of Ed Iten: a four-year-old male named Cargo died on March 11, between Elim and White Mountain. The reason for Cargo's death has not yet been determined.
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Fun On The- Run Kennel- Racing

'10 Junior- Iditarod, 6th- place!		 
 
Barked: Tue Mar 18, '08 2:09am PST 
Kim Franklins dogs were found back at Rainey Pass and were given back to her. Jennifer Frekings dog getting hit by a snowmachine was a freak accident with a drunk. Iditarod is not cruel and Kim didn't just leave her dogs in the Alaskan Wilderness to fend for themselves. She lost several thousand dollars for getting withdrawn from the race and I am sure she tried everything she could to get those two dogs back.
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Khuno

Chain free is- the way to be!
 
 
Barked: Sun Mar 30, '08 3:55pm PST 
From the ADN reports I read, the snowmobile driver wasn't drunk, and the Frekings were camped too close to the trails.

Anyway.........

The first death this year occurred in the team of John Stetson: a seven-year-old dog named Zaster died on March 8th from aspiration pneumonia.

The second death this year occurred in the team of Jennifer Freking: a three-year-old dog named Lorne died after being struck by a snowmobile on March 10th - yet Freking continued the race, even though one dog was dead and another was seriously injured. How could anyone continue down the trail after something so horrific happening to their team?

The third death this year occurred in the team of Ed Iten: a four-year-old male named Cargo died on March 11, between Elim and White Mountain. The reason for Cargo's death was never determined.

In almost all of the Iditarod races, at least one dog death has occurred. The very first race is reported to have resulted in the deaths of 15 to 19 dogs.

In total, from calculations on the Iditarod's official statistics page, 506 dogs were dropped from the 2008 Iditarod teams due to becoming injured and/or too ill to continue.

What happens to the dogs who do survive the race? They return "home" to their "chain yards." They are once again slapped on a short chain, connected to a dilapidated dog house, among hundreds of other neglected husky sled dogs. Some dog houses look like the ones below - with holes, exposed screws and rotting floors:

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/baddoghouse.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/unsafehouse.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/holehouse.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/typicalhouse.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/rockybed.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/rockycurl.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/rockyhouse.htm

http://www.lakotasong.com/sleddogs/nodoghouses.htm

Edited by author Fri Apr 25, '08 12:04pm PST

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Magnum

483518		 
 
Barked: Sun Mar 30, '08 8:04pm PST 
Wait a minute Khuno's writer, on another thread you wrote that you know the Frekings personally, just under one of your other dogs.....hmmmm
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Fun On The- Run Kennel- Racing

'10 Junior- Iditarod, 6th- place!		 
 
Barked: Sun Mar 30, '08 9:13pm PST 
Not all sled dogs are not "slapped" onto a short chain...I know of several free run kennels like Wayne Curtis. I am not saying that I have a free run kennel however.
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Windy CD CGC TDI

Ethics Matter!
 
 
Barked: Mon Mar 31, '08 3:04pm PST 
Our human knows most of the purebred racing community personally, and has been to many of their kennels across New England and the Midwest. She simply stated that she was fully aware that Jen was a veterinarian and that she felt that should have very little to do with fact that she had a dog die. And that we're all rather disgusted that she continued.
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Fun On The- Run Kennel- Racing

'10 Junior- Iditarod, 6th- place!		 
 
Barked: Mon Mar 31, '08 7:31pm PST 
Windy-why would you be disgusted that she continued on?? I think she and Blake made a good decision to deal with it on the train instead of at home. On the trail they have the support of all the other mushers and the sympathy of all those people and vets at checkpoints. I personally stood on Front Street in Nome and cheered them in because it was such a sad thing.
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