How Volunteer Vets Care for Iditarod Dogs Along the
1,000-mile Trail
Article #23
Topic: volunteers
Citation:
Caldwell, Susanna. "How Volunteer Vets Care for Iditarod Dogs along the
1,000-mile Trail." Alaska Dispatch
News. Alaska Dispatch News, 06 Mar. 2013. Web. 14 Mar. 2016.
<http://www.adn.com/article/20130306/how-volunteer-vets-care-iditarod-dogs-along-1000-mile-trail>.
It might cost $4 million to put on the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog
Race every year, but that number doesn't take into account the hundreds of
volunteers that donate their time -- and often a good chunk of change -- to get
to the race. Among the most important volunteers are the 42 race veterinarians
who care for the dogs between Anchorage and Nome.
According to head veterinarian Stu Nelson, most Iditarod vets
come from the Lower 48, with only a half-dozen Alaskans joining them on the
trail. Some make a much longer trek, including two from Germany, one from South
Africa and one from Australia.
No matter where they come from, their services are vital. It's
not uncommon for mushers to ask for a vet upon arriving at a checkpoint. Even if
they don't, vets swarm checkpoints, stethoscopes draped around their necks,
calmly inspecting each and every dog.
That's by design, Nelson says. Early in the race, some
checkpoints can be clogged with dozens of mushers arriving, making it impossible
for all of the vets to do hands-on examinations.
Still, you'll often see vets moving through dog lots, hovering
over teams, gently rubbing shoulders and backs, patting the dogs’ haunches,
looking for any signs of distress.
Nelson says he trains all of the vets to HAWL -- an acronym that
breaks down the four main areas “vets are tuning into.”
·
H for heart and hydration: As ultra-fit
endurance athletes on the trail doing intense cardiovascular work, vets are
keenly tuned in to the heart rates of the dogs, as well their hydration levels
-- something that's especially important if there are unseasonabaly warm
temperatures.
·
A for attitude and appetite: Are they peppy and
alert, rearing to go? Or disengaged and dragging? That matters, as does the dogs
ability to chow down and keep fueling up.
·
W for weight: To travel thousands
of miles, the dogs need plenty of fat reserves, even while eating thousands of
calories a day.
·
L for lungs: Strong lungs are
critical. Occasionally, dogs struggle with kennel cough -- essentially a cold
that can lead to sometimes-fatal pneumonia.
For many vets, examining sled dogs is not common. Most vets on
the trail have regular practices back home where they see house dogs more often
than the elite sled dogs of Iditarod Trail teams. Still, veterinarians undergo
an application process in order to volunteer that requires a minimum of five
years clinical practice.
“In the Bush, you don't have the latest and greatest equipment,”
Nelson says. “Experience is important because you don't have much technology to
draw from.”
In 2012, Alan Taylor, now on his fifth trip down the trail, had
to deal with stethoscopes so frozen that one point of them broke. And despite a
long trip from Australia to Alaska, Taylor says it's worthwhile.
“I enjoy what we do with the mushers,” he said. “The dogs are
great to work with.”
It's an attitude that has changed over the years. Phil Meyer has
worked the race off and on since the late 1970s. He says the attitude of both
the dogs and mushers has changed tremendously since the early days of the race
that started in 1973. Before, mushers used the dogs primarily for work. Now,
there’s much more care directed towards treating the dogs well, he says.
“There's a lot of difference between working and racing,” Meyer
said from his veterinary practice in Wasilla. “In racing, it's a sport and the
dogs should never have to suffer.”
Nevertheless, there will always be bumps and rubs along the
trail, but the overall health of the dogs is improving. Many vets credit
research done on the trail with improving the health of canine athletes. In
recent years, vets have begun giving the dogs an acid suppressant -- essentially
over-the-counter antacid medication -- to prevent stomach ulcers. Adding vitamin
E has helped prevent serious muscle fatigue in the dogs as they run 1,000 miles
to Nome.
So far, it's paid off. For three consecutive Iditarods, no dogs
have died during the race, a record unmatched in the history of the world’s
biggest sled-dog race. Nelson hopes to make that four, but he recognizes there
are things beyond the control of his veterinary team. “I have a realistic
perspective that I can't control life, obviously, and things can happen in spite
of everything being perfectly laid out,” Nelson says. “Freak things can happen.”
The biggest draw for most Iditarod veterinarians might be the
family experience among the close-knit volunteer checkpoints. While the Iditarod
only pays a small stipend to veteran vets -- rookies vets get nothing -- it's
generally barely enough to cover expenses of getting to Alaska.
“We get together each year, these people all become a big part of
your life,” Nelson says. “And of course where else could see this? The vastness
and beauty that is Alaska. There are a lot of unique things to what we do out
there. You put the whole the package together, and it's pretty alluring.”