PETA Statement: Iditarod Announces Necropsy Results for Pregnant Dog Who Died in Grueling 2025 Race

For Immediate Release:
August 1, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

The Iditarod just announced the necropsy results for Ventana, the four-year-old pregnant dog who collapsed and died on the trail in March after musher Daniel Klein forced her to run for more than 300 miles. The necropsy announcement revealed no potential causes of death other than that Ventana was in a “later stage of pregnancy.” Klein was reportedly running dogs from Ryan Redington’s kennel, and Redington had reportedly borrowed Ventana “last-minute” from musher Wade Marrs. Ventana’s pregnancy evidently went undetected throughout the Qualifying Review Board Musher pre-screening, the veterinary trail exam, and discussion with the musher and race judges.

Please see the following statement from PETA President Tracy Reiman:

Race officials, mushers, two kennel owners, and apparently even the Iditarod’s own veterinarians failed to protect this young, very pregnant dog at every turn. Her entirely preventable death is an indictment of the entire Iditarod operation, and PETA is urging officials to end this despicable race immediately before any more dogs are run to death while humans sit back and even fall asleep.

More than 150 dogs have died in the Iditarod since the event began, including three young dogs who collapsed and died on the trail last year. The 2024 Iditarod was 975 miles; this year’s race, rerouted due to insufficient snow, was approximately 1128 miles. More than 180 dogs were pulled off the trail due to exhaustion, illness, injury, or other causes, forcing the remaining ones to work even harder to pull the mushers.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to use for entertainment or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.