ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Two dogs died over the weekend during Alaska annual Iditarod sled dog racemarking the first deaths during the race in five years and renewing calls to end the 1,000-mile contest that sees canines and their teams cross mountain ranges, frozen river and sea ice — often during rough weather.
Bog, a 2-year-old male on Issac Teaford’s team, collapsed Sunday morning about 200 feet from the checkpoint in the village of Nulato, a former Russian trading post located 582 miles into the race in the Alaskan wilderness. He died despite a vet performing CPR for about 20 minutes.
A second dog, George, a 4-year-old male on Hunter Keefe’s team, collapsed and died despite efforts to revive him, a race statement said.
George died on the trail about 35 miles outside the village of Kaltag, which is 629 miles into the race.
An autopsy did not determine Bogue’s cause of death, and the Iditarod said further tests will be conducted. An autopsy will also be performed on George.
Keefe, of Knik, and Teaford, of Salt Lake City, voluntarily left the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on Sunday. According to the rules of the match, they threatened to retire by the match marshal otherwise.
The last dog to die during the annual race was Oshi, a 5-year-old female in Richie Beattie’s team, in 2019. In a post-race checkup, veterinarians found signs of pneumonia in the dog. He was taken to Anchorage for care, but later died.
Both Keefe and Teaford are fairly inexperienced at running the Iditarod, one of the largest sled dog races in the world. Teaford is a rookie and Keefe was in his second race after finishing 11th last year.
The dogs’ deaths Sunday prompted People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, long the Iditarod’s biggest critic, to call for an end to the race.
“The death toll continues to rise for dogs who are forced to run until their bodies collapse so that the human victor gets a trophy and the dogs an icy grave,” said PETA Senior Vice President Colleen O’Brien in statement. “PETA is calling for an end to this awful race.”
PETA has claimed that more than 150 dogs have died in the Iditarod, but race officials have never provided an official number of dogs that have died since the race was first run in 1973.
The organization protested outside the convention center where the mushers’ banquet was held before the race’s ceremonial start on March 2 in Anchorage.
An Iditarod representative did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment on PETA’s call.
PETA has too targeted race sponsors to end their support of the race in recent years. Companies that have stopped sponsoring include Alaska Airlines, ExxonMobil, Wells Fargo and Chrysler, through an Anchorage dealership.
The organization earlier called for musher Dallas Seavey to be removed from this year’s race after his dog Phallus was injured in a encounter with a moose shortly after the start of the match. PETA claims it delayed the dog’s care. Seavey was given a two-hour penalty for not properly shooting the moose after shooting it.
“Mushers’ prioritization of winning over the welfare of the dogs is what is wrong with the Iditarod,” said PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman.
In the months leading up to this year’s race, another five dogs died and eight were injured after avalanches hit the dog teams during training sessions.
Despite the time penalty, Seaavey had a healthy lead on Monday morning. GPS tracking on the Iditarod Insider website showed him 16 miles ahead of runner-up Jessie Holmes.
Seavey, who was about 155 miles from the finish, is trying to win his sixth championship. He is currently tied with Rick Swenson for most wins at five each.
The grueling race, which lasts about 10 days, began with 38 mushers at the ceremonial start in Anchorage. Five have since left.
The route takes in two mountain ranges, along the frozen Yukon River and the ice of the Bering Sea before ending up in the Gold Rush town of Nome.
The winner is due mid-week in Nome.