Associated PressWith all the negative coverage of sled dogs recently I felt that I needed to show sled dogs in a positive light. I know nothing about the sport other then dogs pull a sled through the snow. It is my understanding that true competitors in the sport would only use dogs who are in top condition to race and that depending on the legnth of the race veterinarians must be present in order to monitor the condition of the dogs. In looking for information about them I came across documentary footage of one Ititarod contenders first journey on the trail to Nome. Which I am going to share with all of you.
Associated PressOn the morning of the narrators start you can hear all the excitement in the air from the dog teams talking back and forth amongst each other. The dogs know what is going to happen and they are excited. Having never watched a race I wasn't sure what to expect at the start line. I certainly didn't expect to see the dogs needing individual leashes so they didn't take off before they were supposed to. There was no convincing these dogs to start running it is what they want to do with every fiber in their bodies. Run full out in the snow as far as their legs can take them. You can see the joy and concentration on their faces
There are veterinarians on the trail at the checkpoints where contenders will leave dogs behind who have an injury or who have gone lame or otherwise just aren't performing. They will stop to untangle the team and reboot them. On really cold days the dogs wear jackets and at night when they stop to rest they are given bedding and jackets so they can be out in the sun resting. The participants clearly know their dogs personalities and make sure all the dogs are acting normal and are staying healthy. It seems like the dogs are having so much fun running out in the wilderness. At rest stops spectators are allowed to visit with the dogs and say hello. On the Iditarod Blog there are even several images of children visiting with the dogs at rest stops and offer hugs and kisses to the Teams.
The only thing negative I saw is that the dogs have to go potty while in motion at some points but then again if they had to stop each time a member of the team needed to potty they might never get anywhere with so many dogs.
Video Part 1 of 4
For all 4 videos visit:
http://www.cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/05/03/iditarod.angie.taggart/index.html