Iditarod Update



Taken from iditarodblogs.com.


Found out this morning that my musher has scratched.  Zoya Denure scratched from the race late last night due to one of her dogs collapsing.  You can read the article here in detail.  I am sad to see her discontinuing, but I think she has a heart of gold.  The fact that, even though she could continue the race and just leave the dog at the checkpoint, her concern and willingness to give up all the hard work her and the dogs have done to prepare for the race to watch over her sick dog is what mushing is all about.

Taken from iditarodblogs.com

Zoya is my favorite musher because she and her husband run a kennel for retired/given-up/rehomed dogs.  I loved the fact that her teams consisted of shelter dogs and rescues.  Yay for rescued puppies!!  It says in the article that she is thinking about just running the shorter, couple hundred miles races instead of the Iditarod.  I am on her side either way, but I would love to see her come back in a few years and place in the top ten or something.

Taken from flickr- GipsyGold

In other news, it seems that the Bordetella, aka canine cough, epidemic has reached the sled dog teams.  Multiple mushers have scratched due to their dogs showing symptoms.  It could be catastrophic if it spread down the trail, resulting in hundreds of dogs being infected.  Bordetella has been rampant here for the last month, moving slowly up from Anchorage.  Bordetella is a highly contagious sickness that is comparable to the human flu.  Dogs get vaccinated for it just like we take flu shots, though his strand that is infecting the dogs is a new, stronger strand that the vaccine doesn't even touch.

As of last night, Trent Herbst is in first, but he has not taken his 24 hour layover (nor Kelley Griffin- my boss' good friend who is running with our mushing gear) unlike most of the other mushers in the top ten.  It has been said that they are being very aware of their dogs health with this rumor of Bordetella and the conditions of the trail up ahead.  They are taking their long layovers early, focusing on feeding, massaging, and loving on their dogs to keep spirits, and health, high.

So lets all keep the dogs and the mushers in our thoughts and send them all positive, healing energy to get them back home safe.

More on the Iditarod and other Kellyness to come later.

Oh, oh; I almost forgot.  Have a new vid on Hoop City.  Check it out if you are interested.  Nothing fancy, just some fun.