These Photos From The 1,000-Mile Dog Sled Race Through Alaska Will Melt Your Heart

[FarCenter]

The 2013 Iditarod started last weekend in Alaska.

The race requires one rider ("musher&quot and a team of 16 dogs to navigate a sled through 1,000 miles of Alaskan Wilderness from Anchorage to Nome.

The race always produces some incredible photos that capture not only the harshness of the environment, but the enduring spirit that the dogs and humans both embody.

Also, the dogs are cute, if cold.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/best-iditarod-photos-2013-3?op=1

[NV Whino]

1. Keep a check on the photography group

BlueinAK attends the race and always posts fabulous photos.

[LibertyLover]

2. I love huskies

We had one for 10 years and that dog was a hoot. One winter we actually had some snow and we put his harness on and hooked him up to my old Flexible Flyer sled and took the neighborhood kids for rides up and down the street. You never saw a happier dog! We were very lucky in that shortly before we decided he was too old to pull a sled that we again had some snow (actually we had a lot of snow as it was winter 2009/2010 with the Snowmaggedon storms in DC/MD/VA) and we hooked him up and had him pull our 7 year old daughter around a bit. He was happy and so was she. They loved each other and when we lost him a couple of years later she was desolated. We'll get another husky, well adopt another husky since that's how we got Bragi, and all our other dogs, when we get our own place again. Rentals are picky about the type dog you have and we had to convince our landlord that our husky was too old and getting too sick to be much of a problem before he'd rent to us.

[IcyPeas]

3. looks like they wear shoes. /eom

[pansypoo53219]

4. i did an art fair in july in Marquette, mich last year. and 2 BIG huskies came by.

the younger male had little booties on. he had less hairy toes. i have to say, the iron rich sand up there gets HOT!. as does blacktop.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. They all wear little booties,

which are handed out to the fans...mostly the kids...at the end of the race.

[LiberalLovinLug]

5. Then there is the other side of the sledding business...

When these animals no longer are profitable. Happened in my back yard.

http://www.theprovince.com/news/Massacre+horrifies+shoots+sled+dogs+execution+style+after+Olympic+slowdown/4197145/story.html


Massacre horrifies B.C.: Man shoots 100 sled dogs ‘execution-style’ after Olympic slowdown

exerpt:

A WorkSafe B.C. report dealing with the compensation, details the gruesome scenes on April 21 and 23, 2010, when the worker euthanized 100 dogs over two days. The size of the cull meant he had to kill the dogs in full view of the rest of the pack, leading to a bloody frenzy of wounded, frightened and angry dogs.

The dogs were buried in a mass grave.

One dog, Nora, was found crawling around in the mass grave 20 minutes after he had dumped her body into the pit. Others were chased, shot cleanly or died after their throats were slit. The employee, according to the report, was “covered in blood” when finished.

[GiveMeFreedom]

6. That's disgusting. n/t

[Blue_In_AK]

9. This is not the Iditarod.

There are creeps involved in every sport.

[beevul]

15. That was one of the most disgusting things I had ever read about.

As someone who rescues animals...

[burrowowl]

21. What an Evil Person!

He should be in Jail!

[Blue_In_AK]

7. Great photos!

I have about a thousand myself. . We are heading out to Nome on Sunday for the finish of the race. I will post a link to my best pictures when I get them all sorted and edited, probably toward the end of March.

These really are incredible animals with wonderful dispositions. Of course, there are always detractors (as I see you already have in this thread), but having followed this race almost from it's inception, I have seen the excellent care that the dogs receive from the multitude of vets along the trail and the love they receive from their owners and handlers. I love the Iditarod, I don't care what anyone says. It's the one time of year when Alaskans put aside their differences and join in following the race and cheering for their favorites. Politics never comes up. .

[riderinthestorm]

11. And the dogs love doing it! You could never make them do this with force.

It would be so easy for the dogs to simply quit, or lie down, or turn nasty if forced.

These animals love the sport they're participating in - and until people see it personally that's pretty hard for some detractors to understand.

I can't wait to see your pictures Blue!

[Blue_In_AK]

16. I'll be posting the links in the Photo Group

to avoid the arguments. Late March, early April.

[riderinthestorm]

17. No star but I've seen them in other years when I did have one.

They are magnificent!

I love seeing top athletes - human, canine, equine or whatever! doing what they love doing. Its such a pleasure.

[Blue_In_AK]

19. I don't think you need a star

but I'll try to remember to notify you.

[4_TN_TITANS]

10. Excellent pics....

I have a much greater appreciate of the dogs after listening to NPR this morning. They were talking about how in the off-season the dogs are treated like 'world class athletes' with diet, medical care, even massages.

[RebelOne]

12. What happens to the dogs when they are not racing.

I know that many of you do not like PETA, but their research is usually correct.

Iditarod: Life off the Trail Also Hellish for Dogs

Written by Jeff Mackey 02-27-2013
The 2013 Iditarod dogsled race is approaching, and it has been preceded by a string of canine deaths in other races, illustrating yet again why PETA works to stop this miserable "sport," which can be grueling and even deadly for the animals forced to pull heavy loads over long distances at high speeds, often in extreme weather conditions.

But what you might not know is that the dogs used for pulling sleds live miserable lives off the trail, too. When they aren't pulling heavy sleds, they're often tethered by short chains to plastic doghouses or ramshackle sheds, living on small patches of dirt amid their own urine and feces. Chained dogs are at the mercy of the elements and susceptible to attacks by dangerous wildlife. Recently, for instance, a pack of chained dogs used for pulling sleds in Alaska was attacked by a musk ox.

http://www.peta.org/b/thepetafiles/archive/2013/02/27/iditarod-hellish-for-dogs.aspx

[Blue_In_AK]

13. It seems to me that if the dogs were treated badly

or inhumanely, they would be more aggressive or irritable. Instead, every one that I've ever met has been very sweet and friendly. In Nome after the top 10 teams or so have arrived and the crowds thin out a little, the little kids go up in the chute and pet the dogs, hug them around their necks, let them lick their faces. I've never seen even one dog act aggressive.

I'm not saying that there's never, ever been a mistreated dog, but from my experience with these mushers and dogs, there is much love shared.

And as for the musk ox, dogs get run over by cars, too. Things are different in Alaska.

[riderinthestorm]

14. No way. The dogs would not stay in condition to race if they were always chained

(Fyi, I own sport horses who spend a part of their lives in stalls). It would be impossible for the dogs to be competitive if they didn't have training time both in harness and off PLUS time off to simply be a dog for their mental health (which is similar to how we operate with the horses).

The dogs alone are simply too expensive as well such that any owner wouldn't dream of jeopardizing the health and sanity of a team. I did a simple google search and the dog teams can run $100,000. The entry costs, transportation and dog maintenance for the Ititarod alone will set an owner back $20 - $30K. Its insane to believe that there'd be active mistreatment when you have that much $$ sunk into it. The people who do this sport certainly don't do it for the money and glory either - the prize money for the 2013 race is only $50k.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iditarod_Trail_Sled_Dog_Race#Participants


They do it because they love the dogs and have a passion for the sport.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/2013/03/06/iditarod-mushers-compete-for-love-of-sport/1968977/

[Blue_In_AK]

18. That's right.

The mushers at the back only get a check for $1,049 which doesn't even scratch the amount of money they spend caring for the dogs, entering the race, etc. not to mention the equipment. As you say, it's pure love of the sport and the adventure.

[smirkymonkey]

20. Awww! Such beautiful doggies!

They are so gorgeous! I love them!