I am willing to give the Iditarod Trail Committee ownership of “Iditarod The Last Great Race” in exchange for the equal run, equal rest recommendations for the dogs on the trail. It would be a win, win situation for ITC and the sled dogs.

#1. Equal run, equal rest. If it takes about seven hours to run from check point A to check point B, for example, then check point B would be assigned a seven - hour rest spot for all teams.

A team may take more than seven hours to rest if they choose to, but it would have a minimum of seven hours rest. If a team took five hours or if a team took ten hours to reach check point B, for example, it would still take seven hours rest there.

#2. Drop a dog, stay an additional two hours of rest at that check point where the dog was dropped.

#3. Change the 24-hour rest rule to two 12-hour rest spots. Two 12-hour rest spots are superior to one 24-hour rest spot. A musher may choose to take the two 12-hour rest spots back to back and make it one 24-hour rest spot.

If a musher came into check point B that had the seven -hour rest period and took one of the 12-hour rest spots there, the musher would take the 7 hours plus 12 hours = 19 hours of rest.

The fastest team would still win the race. It would give the dogs a minimum rest time instead of running around the clock.

Everyone would have the same minimum rest time as everyone else on the trail. No one would have the jump on anyone else.

A rested musher can take better care of him or herself and the dogs than a tired one. There would be some time for mushers to visit the people in the villages and this has not happened for a very long time.

The race today is a pit-stop car race now. All business. It does not do much for the host of the villages who put on the race in their area.

John Suter
Past Iditarod Musher

Ramy’s only misfortune was to get caught. The other’s do it too, to a greater or lesser degree.

June 6, 2007

Dear Editor

The Iditarod Board of Directors has given one of it’s mushers a 2 year ban for spanking his dogs multiple times. The Iditarod Board of Directors should have given their self a 2 year ban as well because they are just as guilty of the violation. The board did not take the direct action of spanking the dog team, but they set up the conditions for the event to occur. They did this by refusing to throttle the race’s speed by not putting in the badly needed equal run, equal rest recommendations. There is enormous pressure for these mushers to perform the best that they can. The results of this is in order to be competitive, mushers now run their dogs teams day and night around the clock. The mushers who give their dogs teams equal run, equal rest are behind the front of the pack. Most of them can not afford to keep racing for more than a few years. This musher did not do anything differently than all of the other top mushers, it is that this musher got caught. With equal run, equal rest, rested dogs will be able to keep running and rested mushers brains will not be stuck on stupid.

Sincerely,

John Suter
Former 4 time Iditarod finisher.

Thanks again,
Heather

June 3, 2007

Dear Editor

The Iditarod Board of Directors has given one of it’s mushers a 2 year ban for spanking his dogs multiple times. The Iditarod Board of Directors should have given their self a 2 year ban as well because they are just as guilty of the violation. The board did not take the direct action of spanking the dog team, but they set up the conditions for the event to occur. They did this by refusing to throttle the race’s speed by not putting in the badly needed equal run, equal rest recommendations. There is enormous pressure for these mushers to perform the best that they can. The results of this is in order to be competitive, mushers now run their dogs teams day and night around the clock. The mushers who give their dogs teams equal run, equal rest are behind the front of the pack. Most of them can not afford to keep racing for more than a few years. This musher did not do anything differently than all of the other top mushers, it is that this musher got caught. With equal run, equal rest, rested dogs will be able to keep running and rested mushers brains will not be stuck on stupid.

Sincerely,

John Suter Former 4 time Iditarod finisher.

How can these people expect these dogs to run hundreds of miles all of a sudden when they have been kept on short leashes all year. That’s not just abuse.. that’s torture!

The race either needs to stop, or else make sure these mushers let their dogs run during the year… and not to be beaten by a stick or whip when they run.. just let them run like free animals.

These are beautiful, loyal, hard-working creatures that are stretched to their limits each year. It’s abuse.

There is NO EXCUSE, for beating these beautiful animals. They give their all in these races, and they know their bodies better than anyone else, and know when they can’t go any further. Yes, they are bred for this, and love to run, but everyone, including sleddogs have their limits just like we do. How would you feel if you had to run 100 miles without any relief?

I was born and raised in Alaska, and even though I now live in Washington, I get excited every year when this event come around.

I know some people say it is abuse to “make” this animals do this; but if you have ever been around these type of dogs, especially huskies and Malamutes, you would see they live to run, it is in their blood.

One musher was banned for two years after he was filmed kicking his dogs. But at that time he could go over and run the Quest so it wasn’t as big a deal. Maybe Ramy deserves a one or two year ban if there is more to this than just swatting them. One report said his mom came over and helped him get the dogs going- if true that is another rule violation. He also pulled down a trail marker to swat the dogs- if he didn’t put it back up then that is another violation.

A necropsy would show bruising when they strip the skin off- bruises show up under the skin. I wonder how detailed a necropsy they did on the dead dog? The gross necropsy didn’t show much but tissue sampling can show if the dead dog had muscle damage from being overrun- that can kill a dog- lactic acid overwhelms their kidneys. Ramy was running straight through from Koyuk to White Mt- 100 miles. A lot of mushers took a short break at Elim- maybe Ramy should have too.

You wouldn’t see bruising under the fur. But with a live dog the vets could have possibly felt swelling and found sore spots by palpating the live dogs. I really doubt he did any serious injury to the dogs though- its usually just a way to scare them into doing what you want unless you pop them on the nose or eye.

It’s kind of silly to say all the mushers love their dogs. They’re not children- they’re work animals. I think they like some more than others but when they start trying to quit a musher can develop a distinct dislike for a dog. Some of the dogs put their whole heart into the race but a lot of them don’t. The ones that work too hard (put their whole heart into it) just get hurt or tired and get dropped. The best dogs stay enthusiastic but pace themselves.

The discerning musher can see when the dogs are starting to lose their enthusiasm and starts taking longer breaks and shorter runs until the enthusiasm returns. That’s what Buser and King did this year on the coast. Other mushers never seem to figure this out and just keep pushing until the dogs go slower and slower and want to quit…

Poor Brooks… Not.
He showed one thing alright.. his dogs are smarter than he is.

What part of this is “scolding”?

“Since that time, it has been reported in the media that the extent of Brooks’ abuse to his dogs in Golovin was more than originally confirmed. The teacher is claiming that Brooks punched and kicked each of his dogs when the team stopped outside of the village.”

“Ramy has accepted is disqualification from this year’s race and does not dispute the original story but has not made a comment on the details that came out later.”

He hasn’t made a comment on the later details? I’m not surprised….

“Rule 37 — Dog Care:
• There will be no cruel or inhumane treatment of dogs. Cruel or inhumane treatment involves any
action or inaction, which causes preventable pain or suffering to a dog.”

So did hitting the dogs with a stick cause pain or suffering? Who knows? Maybe it just scared them. But apparently it worked cause the dogs eventually got going.

What I don’t get with Ramy’s story is the part about 2 dogs quitting and holding up the whole team. He had 10 dogs in the team so why didn’t he put the slackers in wheel and let the other 8 drag them on over to White Mt? Or he could have put the 2 bums in the sledbag and packed them over the easy trail to white Mt. Unless the two quitters were his only leaders….

Or is it possible that the whole team decided it was time for a break. They were going through a village and often the dogs stop in villages for a break. So why not just give them a short break and then ask them to continue instead of getting all lathered up swinging a stick around?

BTW- Is it possible that the dogs quit in Golovin and the one dog died later for the same reason? being run beyond their ability…
Dogs that are overrun can develop exertional myopathy- muscle damage which produces lactic acid. This causes cramping which makes the dogs want to stop and sometimes causes kidney failure and death. Is Iditarod conducting furthur research on the dead dog to see if it had this syndrome called rhabdomyolasis?

. . .Brooks was disqualified from this year’s race after
admitting he “spanked” his dogs with a wooden trail
marker after two refused to get up and run .. ..

That is in itself is grounds for punishment. If the severity of it proves true, jail time and fines are in order.

What a pitiful character you are, Ramy Brooks. Be a man and confess to what you did.