Killing Dogs: An Alaskan Specialty
The Iditarod looms, along with the specter of racing dog deaths
As an Alaskan (now living Outside) I have struggled with my feelings about the Iditarod since childhood. It's true that these dogs love to run, they were literally born to run, every fiber of their being tells them to RUN. But the older I get, the more I think that, as their caretakers, we owe it to our dogs not to run them to death.
And when you get right down to it, the Iditarod is a voluntary activity. No one has to do it. People choose to do it, and that's fine. But is it right for people to choose the Iditarod for their dogs? Shouldn't we be better conservators for them? A dog cannot, after all, really offer informed consent. It can just do what you ask it to do, and unfortunately what we ask them to do every year is risk their lives for a sporting event.
It is a fact that dogs die in the Iditarod. They die for a lot of different reasons, but they die. The last two years saw zero dog deaths, which is startling and unprecedented. In 2009, six dogs died during the race.
There are few other precedents for this kind of thing. Occasionally, in the sport of horse racing, a horse will stumble and be injured and have to be put down. But imagine a situation where every year at the Kentucky Derby, several horses die - and everyone acts like it's no big deal. Accidents happen! They try to reduce the injury rate! They have vets there! Everything gets checked out! But nevertheless, every year horses died at the Derby. The world would be up in arms.
Not to mention if fatality was just an everyday occurrence in a human sport like the Boston Marathon or the Tour de France!
The best thing I can say about the Iditarod is that they have managed to weed out most instances of outright animal cruelty. Mushers have been vilified, if not disqualified, for abusing their animals during the course of the race. Kicking, hitting, beating the dogs - this almost never happens (these days).
But the race is incredibly difficult, and even with the advances we have made in canine health science, some dogs will die. Maybe they will tangle with a moose, maybe they will get gravely ill, or maybe their hearts will just burst. But they will die, I guarantee it.
Mush on, you huskies.