Editorial Exposes Truth Behind Iditarod: Dogs Merely Sacrifices to Attempt at Winners Glory

The race isn't until March, but it's a good time to let others know the hidden facts.

For more on the untold facts behind the Iditarod, see http://www.helpsleddogs.org/faq.htm and http://www.helpsleddogs.org/. Needless to say, you haven’t been getting the whole truth and you’ll be shocked by what you read.

Article:

Letter: Iditarod an abuse of dogs

http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/opinion/
view.bg?articleid=138130

Thursday, August 17, 2006

In her review of Susan Butcher's life ("Celebrating women who made a difference," Aug. 16), Tad Bartimus neglected to mention that animal lovers criticized the musher for participating in the Iditarod. Butcher could never show that the race, with its well-documented history of abuses, isn't a sweatshop for dogs.

What happens to the dogs during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, broken bones, pneumonia, torn muscles and tendons, diarrhea, vomiting, hypothermia, fur loss, broken teeth, viral diseases, torn footpads, ruptured discs, sprains, anemia and lung damage.

One of the dogs used by Butcher in the 1994 Iditarod died from "sudden death syndrome." Another dog dropped dead in 1987 from internal hemorrhaging, and, in 1985, two were killed and several were injured by a moose.

On average, 52 percent of the dogs that start the Iditarod do not make it across the finish line. According to a study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do finish, 81 percent have lung damage. The Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine reported that 61 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod have ulcers versus zero percent pre-race.

The facts show that the level of cruelty in the Iditarod is profound. The race belongs in history's garbage can.

MARGERY GLICKMAN
Director, Sled Dog Action Coalition,
Miami