One sled dog killed, others injured in apparently deliberate attack on Iditarod race

[bluedigger]

Source: Los Angeles Times

Two of the top competitors in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race were run down by a snowmobile on a remote section of the Yukon River early Saturday morning in what Alaska authorities are calling a deliberate attack.

The incident left one dog dead and several more injured, at least one seriously. The mushers themselves were shaken but escaped injury.

Four-time Iditarod champ Jeff King, who was running one of the teams involved, said the snowmobile went through his team at high speed outside the village of Nulato.

“He went by at 80, 90 mph, never slowed down. His snow machine cowling flew off, and he was gone,” King told KNOM public radio. “It really felt like reckless bravado and playing chicken.”

Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-iditarod-attack-20160312-story.html

[femmocrat]

1. That is so disturbing.

Probably a Palin supporter.

[how gauche]

2. probably

Probably Todd.

[oldtime dfl_er]

3. Drunk

Claims he was in a blackout state from heavy drinking and didn't even know he did it until the next day.

[Warpy]

4. That was my guess

Maybe a stretch in prison will dry him out.

[HooptieWagon]

7. Yes. Turned himself in, claimed he was drunk.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. The guy said he was drunk and blacked out.

When he woke up this morning and saw the damage to his snow machine, he turned himself in. This was really a tragic event. Everyone here is upset.

[bluedigger]

6. I hope they throw the book at him.

Seems to be a long standing pattern of "accidents" between snow machines and dog sledders.

[Blue_In_AK]

8. Jeff and Aliy have such beautiful teams

and reputations for excellent dog care, and they were among the leaders of the race. It's a tragedy all the way around. It's fortunate that there wasn't even more damage.

[uppityperson]

12. How awful and I'm glad no one else was hurt

[Abouttime]

27. Beautiful teams?? WTF?

99% of sled dogs live their lives on chains, the Iditarod is dog abuse, just feeding and breeding these dogs is ABUSE!!!!! it's a circus as bad as dog racing. For the sake of the dogs let's end this white trash palinesque sideshow.
Seriously..animal racing in the 21st century? What sane human cares about this??

[Blue_In_AK]

29. I've been around the mushers and their dog teams

over the course of many years, and I'm afraid I have to seriously disagree with you.

[Abouttime]

36. Really??

Sled dogs, when they aren't running live their lives ON CHAINS! That my friend is the definition of abuse and in most places in the lower 48 you would lose your dog and be jailed if your dog was chained.
The practice of forcing dogs to pull sleds in a race is as bad or worse than greyhound racing. The time for it to end has come. Progressive Alaskans should lead the way in ending this abuse. Seriously, it makes your state look bad to the rest of us down here, defending animal abuse reinforces the stereotype Alaska is populated with white trash Palinesque types.
We know you're better than that, quit defending this barbaric exhibition of dog abuse.

[snooper2]

47. you should start a blog on this and begin a movement!

[MH1]

14. That's awful. Props for turning himself in, but sheesh,

I hope they prosecute him to the fullest extent possible.

Hopefully it's against the law to be DUI on a snowmobile.

It's not like he wouldn't have known there was this huge dog sled race going on in his area when he decided to get shitfaced and play on the snowmobile. Probably needs to be checked into an inpatient rehab center at least, if he isn't going to jail.

[CreekDog]

40. He also said that he was checking on one sledder

Not trying to hit her again.

So he doesn't remember anything but remembers that and also his motivation?

Lie.

[houston16revival]

9. There seems no respect for established things anymore

everything is a target for disruption

very alarming

[Judi Lynn]

17. "Established things" will never include things like Trump's hate rallies. n/t

[houston16revival]

21. Thanks for making that distinction clear

I didn't mean any ambiguity

Das TrumpenFuehrer Rallies are a new revival of mankind's darkest past

that we thought was buried forever

[underpants]

10. They had to bring snow in by rail to run this

US News

[Duppers]

11. Call off this race! nt

It's too hurtful to dogs without this murdering asshole.

[chernabog]

13. Dog sledding is cruel

And has no place in the modern world.

[ManiacJoe]

15. Care to support your claim?

[greymouse]

22. almost every year, dogs die during this race

not by cretinous maniacs running into them, but from exhaustion or other effects of going all out like this for such an extended period of time.

http://www.adn.com/article/20090321/number-dog-deaths-iditarod-trail-troubling

[S_B_Jackson]

16. Own huskys and a malamute....

their a working dog breed, and they want to do the work for which they were bred, much as shepherd breeds want to herd instinctively, and retriever breeds want to "retrieve" and have a strong affinity for water.

Sled dogs are in extraordinarily good condition, their team is their pack with the musher as the pack "alpha", they are well cared for and fed. Not sure how you get "it's cruel".......

[djg21]

18. You don't appear to know much about dogs.

These dogs are working dogs, actually athletes, that are incredibly well cared for and well trained. They are bred to pull sleds and the behavior is ingrained. For what it's worth, all domesticated dogs do better when they have a "job," whether it's pulling a sled, or hunting and field work, or in the case of my retrievers, just chasing a tennis ball over and over and over.

[braddy]

19. Yep, dogs do love being needed and part of a team with a mission.

[groundloop]

20. I totally agree.... much as Greyhounds are meant to run

I've had the pleasure to own a retired Greyhound, very sweet dogs that love to race. Put two or more Greyhounds in the same yard and they're off to the races, they just love to compete with each other.

[chernabog]

23. Ummmm....

You think dogs should be run to death for the pleasure of humans? That's fucked up. Thankfully greyhound racing will soon be banned in Florida.

[Abouttime]

28. Sick

Greyhounds are animals abused as no more than poker chips. Horse and greyhound racing is he epitome of the 1% lifestyle. Pure human greed breeds these sorry animals willing to break their legs to please their subhuman masters.
I pray your greyhounds are sterilized and no more puppies are ever bred fulfill sick human desires.

[Sunlei]

39. They do make very sweet pets. I wish more groups could save the thousands of 'done' track dogs.

[chernabog]

24. Animals are not ours to use.

Especially for dumb asses to race.

[djg21]

25. You were asked to support your claim.

A "dumb ass" is a person who offers baseless conclusions without knowledge or facts to back them up, and then resorts to stupid retorts when called out.

You can't fix stupid.

[chernabog]

26. It's pretty simple.

Dogs get hurt racing. If you race a dog, you don't care about the dog, you care about winning the race.

[Skittles]

30. I watched a documentary on that race

they seemed to care very much about the dogs, and dogs seemed like they could not wait to get out there

[CreekDog]

41. That doesn't make it humane.

[S_B_Jackson]

31. And dogs get hurt falling off of the sofa when they roll over in their sleep...

they get hurt while hunting, they get hurt if herding cattle or sheep or geese, they get hurt while "ratting" or chasing squirrels, or chasing raccoons...

Working dogs love to work, they seek to do so instinctively...they're social, hierarchical animals and sledding channels their natural instincts to perform tasks. I'd much rather that they be used as sled dogs than allowed to roam in feral packs

[chernabog]

33. That's the problem

You think it's ok to "use" sentient beings for your own pleasure.

[djg21]

35. Pets!

Your logic is misguided. Of course I own dogs because they bring me pleasure. Dogs are companion animals. Dogs have been domesticated over thousands of years to be companion animals, and they have evolved to make them better able to survive with humans. These are not wild animals.

I have real issues with greyhound and horse racing, but my issues are more with the industries and the way that many of those animals are treated during their racing careers and after their racing careers end. I'm sure there are some ass@&$@$ in dog sled racing too, but the dog sled people I've known all have been extremely diligent about the health and safety their dogs.

Now, you need to stop drinking all the PETA cool-aid, and I'm going to take my two sentiment beings for a hike in the park so they can chase some tennis balls and maybe tree a squirrel or two.

[chernabog]

37. Adopting and caring

For an animal is pretty different than making one race for you. You don't see that?

[djg21]

43. No it isn't.

By your standards, no sentitent being should be used for purposes of bringing enjoyment to humans. I don't buy this as it pertains here.

If you read my post, you'd see that I have huge issues with the dog and horse race industries for allowing some animals to be mistreated. If all racing greyhounds were treated well, properly vetted and cared for, and able to be adopted out after racing, I'd don't know how much of a problem I'd have with it. Likewise, if horses were not raced until they are 5 years of age and no longer juveniles, and if even old trotters could be adopted out after racing. I'd have less of an issue with the sport

Sled dog racing is a wholly different type of animal. It is not driven by gambling, and all the dogs participating in Iditarod and other big races are extremely well cared for. At Iditarod, veterinarians are placed at regular intervals along the course to check the dogs for any issues. These dogs live pretty well, and the sled dog drivers I've known have always treated their dogs exceptionally well.

I got to see a number of dog sled races when living in a high-end ski resort community. There is also a guy who trains his team near me now, and I often see him working his dogs in the summer by having them pull him on a small ATV along ski trails. The dogs have a ball, and it's really impressive to see how well trained they are.

Maybe you should make an effort to learn more about the sport and dogs generally before you start offering completely baseless and biased opinions.

[chernabog]

44. You just don't understand.

If you love an animal, you're not going to exploit it. Adopting and caring for an animal is not exploitation. Forcing it to perform for you to make money is not noble and is the definition of exploitation.

[djg21]

45. I understand perfectly.

We simply disagree, and you have no clue what you're talking about.

There are dogs that are bred to find truffles in the forest. Truffles sell for quite a bit of money. Is it wrong to exploit dogs to find truffles that then are sold to restaurants at a handsome profit? The dog is performing for the owner to make money.

My dad, who was a Veterinarian btw, always used to caution me about jumping to conclusions an offering opinions about things I know nothing about. It was good advice.

[chernabog]

46. Yes

That is wrong.

[bklyncowgirl]

32. Everything is not black and white in the real world.

The Iditarod celebrates a time when sled dogs were an integral part of the settling of Alaska. The dogs are bred for this work and are happiest doing it. They want to run. Confine them to a house or a yard and they are miserable.

This is not The Call of the Wild. Good dog team owners like good race horse owners take excellent care of the animals, will not run an injured animal and insure that the dogs have a good life after their time as athletes if over. The sport has rules established to insure the safety and wellbeing of the animals. They are vet checked and any dog showing signs of dehydration and distress is pulled from competition.

Of course in any sport there are bad elements who bend and break the rules and yes, in any sports activity, accidents happen.
This was a case of a drunk driver. The dog could have been killed out on a walk with its owner. It had nothing to do with the sport.

[chernabog]

34. Using sentient beings for sport

Is wrong. This isn't the old days. If humans want to race, strap them to a sled.

[Sunlei]

38. They caught the person, he was another drunk- in 'blackout' riding at 90 mph on his snowmobile.

[djg21]

42. I don't buy it.

I think it more likely that the guy realized he was the subject of a search and would be caught. He concocted the story and turned himself in to mitigate and lessen his ultimate punishment.