Because I know that the anti dog mushers out there want another chance to dis my comments – here’s an update:
No dogs harmed!
However, Swingley is out due to a crash on an ice patch (ice – in Alaska – go figure! and you wondered where Lessa got her snarkiness, right?) where he broke a couple of ribs and his thumb. Then we hear that DeeDee Jonrowe is out due to a crash at nearly the same spot – with a broken pinkie bone and “bone tired”ness. Her bones are likely brittle due to the chemo she received for breast cancer four years ago.
Of note to the aforementioned commenter . . . both mushers decided to pull partially because they were worried their injuries might not allow them to care for their dogs properly.
Mushers spend a lot of time breeding and training their dogs. Each dog has its own personality and name – and each musher knows each dog by the same. They eat, drink, sleep, breathe dogs 24x7x365. When on the trail, whether training or racing, the first thing a musher does – before s/he takes care of her/his own needs – is to bed down and water and feed their dogs. They check them all over for any injuries or soreness. They treat any they find. Once all that has been taken care of THEN they eat, hydrate, and rest themselves. The dogs come FIRST.
Pulling out of the race means they won’t have a chance at the purse money. Neither of them mentioned the money. They worried about their dogs.
And, now I am stepping down from that soapbox. Comments are open, but can always be cut off. All are welcome to comment, but use your own space, paid for with your own money, to make any political statements, okay? Thanks.