Letter to the Iditarod Trail Committee

I have worked several check points as medical staff and I can only say PETA has no idea what they are speaking of. I have watched mushers just this side of hypothermic, severely sleep deprived and no doubt staving pull into a check point and before they even begin to think of themselves will feed, care for and bed their dogs down. Animals are cared for by some of the best Vets from around the world who volunteer their time; and if they think a dog isn’t well enough to continue, it is dropped…no questions asked. Maybe if PETA was just a bit less intolerant they might see this.

I was a dog musher for 10 years and ran and finished the Iditarod. My firm belief is that people who think racing dogs is cruel are weak minded and assimilate their weakness to the dogs in the sport. The thing is, these dogs are incredibly tough. You may watch a person climb Everest and think "that is not something I would ever want to do", but you probably don't say "it should be illegal for people to climb Everest". Now, if you talk to the person who has been there, they will most likely say "it was one of the most rewarding experiences of my life, and yes, it was also one of the toughest things". I feel the dogs who have run the Iditarod feel the same in their own dog way. Let me also say this. Any dog who has ran the Iditarod and the following year goes through training and finds him/her self at the starting line once again, knows damn well what is about to happen. And that dog is on his/her tugline, bouncing, yelping and smiling because they love it. I frankly think that PETA folks are either off their rocker or very out of touch.

I was raised in California and have always had dogs and cats that I adopted via dog rescue organizaitonsSPCA. I take in the older dogs that are near the end of their lives or are simply not adoptable for one reason or another. When PETA first came about I was young I am now 49 and I was very happy to hear what the mission was. I contributed and was planning on becoming a member. To this day the mission to stop the laboratory testing going on using innocent animals is a very valid one that I support. The reason I would not sign up as a member was the over the top comments made in the media on various occassions by leaders of PETA andor members when researched I found to be very inaccurate. I moved to Alaska four years ago when I married a man from the area who has never hunted or participated in sled dog races. I have found that the sled dog owners are some of the most dedicated dog owners I have ever met I spent time researching this for myself. The dogs truely love to run and are given rest very good medical exams play and love. There was a new driver two years ago caught kicking his dogs on the trail. He was removed and outsted from all future events and other races mostly due to the fact that the other drivers and dog lovers will not allow him near. That kind of thing is not tolerated by the drivers or supporters in the area. I must admit I held a belief for a long time that sled dog races were cruel. Hoever if you really look into it which PETA tends not to you will find that sled drivers are good and responsible dog owners. I hope someone at PETA cares enough about animals to be fair and not speak off the cuff again as it shows the lack of actually knowing something as fact vs. judgeing from the outside. The wasted time spent on the Iditarod race sled dogs could be put to use in better ways. Thank you for listening.

Barbaric is all I can think of. I never even knew this atrocity existed. And they say we live in a civilized society. What is wrong with these people allowing this to happen are they human at all? I just hope that what goes around comes around and they will get theirs one day. How people make animals suffer makes my blood boil. Keep up the good work PETA and thanks as always for your informative website

Well done Jack! You have a great way with words as always. I'll be learning more about this and definitely be firing off a few letters.