Through unknown circumstances and perhaps some odd twist of six degrees of separation, I’m on a hate-e-mail list of people opposed to the Iditarod sled dog race held annually in Alaska – and of sled dog racing in general.
Members of this hate group have sent me, and more than 100 other people on “the list,” approximately 300 e-mails in the past two weeks asking me to stop sponsoring and/or supporting the Iditarod.
For the record, I assure everyone publicly I’ve never made a financial contribution to the Iditarod or any of its participants. Although the event sounds like a fun one – and, if pushed, I may have to go to Alaska just to watch. Perhaps this hate-group could send me cash for airfare and hotel accommodations so I can travel 2,000 miles to witness first hand the sled dog racing atrocities and the bottomless pit of suffering the dogs are put through, which I allegedly support.
It’s also important to note that I’ve never even made a positive comment to a sled dog race team owner. Not so much as a pat on the back or a hearty, “Well done” have slipped from my lips to anyone who harnesses dogs to a sled and commences mushing. That’s not because I have anything against the Iditarod. Afterall all, I’ve never even watched the race on TV, let alone EVEN MET a musher or his/her mushees.
Notably, there’s a storied history of sled dogs and how the phenomena started as well as its popularity today. I’m not going to provide the link here, however, because in doing so someone in the hate group might view it as supporting the activity, which I don’t – although I’m leaning more toward that side of the fence after reading up on the hobby.
I will, however, post the form letter I’ve received via e-mail some 300-plus times (see below). It’s ironic, isn’t it, that those professing my sponsorship and abuse of sled dogs are abusing my e-mail address to convey a point in which I’ve now sided with their very opposition (almost)…to a point (because I have not, nor plan to make a financial contribution or send a shout out to any sled dog owner).
I might pet a dog though, once they’re done with their work day.
What’s more ironic to me is that within the United States, 1 in 50 children are homeless every day. Let’s not even think about how many of these children didn’t eat a meal last night or didn’t get a goodnight kiss from their mom or dad, because mom and/or dad work two jobs and still must decide whether to pay rent or buy groceries. And let’s not factor in the clear and present danger that exists when these children go to school each day, unable to learn at their full capacity because they are running on empty, wearing clothes found in the garbage and getting short-shrifted by teachers who view them as lost causes.
Yeah, instead, let’s put our money and interests on the abused sled dogs of America because, as we all know, dogs should receive far better treatment than do our own children. Dogs deserve to be placed on the doggie pedestal and revered from afar. Kids are resilient. They’ll bounce back from adversity. Dogs, though, they deserve much, much more.
Note from hate-group e-mailer (N. Pennington in Seattle, WA). Pennington has no idea who I am or why she is e-mailing me. Moreover, she has no proof that I’ve supported sled dog racing or the Iditarod.
Dear Iditarod Supporter:Please end your organization’s support of the Iditarod dog sled race. For the dogs, this event is a bottomless pit of suffering. What happens to the dogs during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, frostbite (where it hurts the most!), bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, pneumonia, ruptured discs, viral diseases, broken bones, torn muscles and tendons and sprains. At least 136 dogs have died in the race. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training. For more facts about the Iditarod, visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website, http://www.helpsleddogs.org.
Sincerely,N. PenningtonSeattle, WA 98136
Thanks N. Pennington from Seattle, WA. Your points are so heartfelt and human that I almost wish I cared. I’m sure that right in your own backyard of Seattle some homeless, starving child with no dad and a mother strung out on meth is wishing he or she could join your cause and make a difference in the life of just one sled dog. Why not start recruiting now? My guess is the line of petitioners would grow if you just offered a hot meal and a cot in a warm, dry garage.
Those of you interested can catch coverage of the Iditarod on Versus.
-end-
Land of 10,000 Perspectives 
The following is not from a person who hates you, and you might like to know that I have helped children for many years.
I am outraged that the Iditarod is being glorified, when, in fact, it is inhumane and should be stopped. There are laws in 38 states against “over-driving” and “over-working” animals, and this is exactly what the Iditarod is.
Sure, the dogs love to run, but not such a grueling 1150-mile RACE. Five dogs died one year, and as far back as records go, a total of 136 died, before this year’s three, so far. The mushers start out with 16 dogs and only about half the dogs make it to the finish line.
When the dogs are not racing, they are either “training” or tethered, –each and every dog short-chained to their own small dog house, even in snow and below freezing weather. This is considered cruel and inhumane and illegal in many communities. These magnificent dogs are essentially treated like machines,–little engines that drive the sled and musher.
It’s all about the money and glory for the mushers. Consider the prize money (hundreds of thousand dollars divided between the top 30 mushers) all the sponsors, and the money it brings in to Alaska, at the expense of the dogs. How many dogs have to die before this brutal race is stopped?
In the historical run, which the Iditarod is promoted to supposedly commemorate, the 1925 Anchorage to Nome diphtheria serum run, “a train carried the medication from Anchorage to Nenana. From there the dogs ran the remaining 674 miles in relays to Norton Sound and up the Bering Sea Coast to Nome. There were 20 serum mushers with dog teams and no dog ran over 92 miles.” This was taken from the Sled Dog Action Coalition Website, http://www.helpsleddogs.org. Margery Glickman, Director of the Coalition, has been researching the Iditarod for many years, after her trip to Alaska and visits of kennels.
Hopefully soon, people will come to understand that many aspects that are involved in the Iditarod are brutally cruel to these living, sentient beings, and the Iditarod sled dog race will indeed be the LAST.
Lucy S
Correction: The total dogs who died in this year’s race is SIX!
It is estimated that on average, 53 percent of the dogs who start the race do not finish. This can be found on the Iditarod website,–mushers’ standings. The mushers start the race with 16 dogs, and the standings indicate how many they finish with. Fifteen mushers “scratched” this year, (not making it to the finish) some expressing concern for their dogs. The scratched mushers, only, represent a total of 240 dogs! One musher scratched with only 6 dogs.
Also, Alaska’s cruelty statute that would apply was changed last year to exempt the Iditarod sled dogs? So, we now have legalized cruelty, which makes it even more difficult to attempt to end this race.
Lucy S
Anyone (or group) who places so much emphasis on such a minor issue (five dogs died one year?!) clearly has too much time on his/her hands.