DUH!!!! Of course dogs love to run! I had an Alaskan Malamute for 18 years. But guess what? Dogs don’t want to be FORCED to run just so a human can be a celebrity, win a trophy and collect monies at the dog’s expense, and pain!!!!! Get a clue! Go RECREATIONAL mushing.

By the same token it doesn’t make sense to hurt dogs before a race. Would anyone really hit a dog senseless and then be irate because it didn’t run very well? It doesn’t compute.

Having said that I’m convinced that there will be characters out there who don’t think twice about hurting animals. After all, we think nothing about slaughtering our own kind by the thousands, we don’t even need a reason. That kind of personality is not going to be soft when it comes to mistreating animals.

I’m not opposed to a race, even one as demanding as the Iditarod, where dogs are involved. I would hope, without being naive about it, that the dogs would be treated as valuable team members instead of meat bags that need to be bludgeoned into submission. Healthy competition is an outlet of aggression and it hones our skills. There is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, we should do more of it, not less. But always with the clear understanding that it’s just competition and that nobody, man or beast, should suffer for someone else’s idea of ‘fun’ or ’sports’. Nobody is that important. No mere recreational activity justifies the suffering of those who could not choose whether they wanted to participate or not.

In times where we had little or no choice it makes no sense to argue about survival or not. In times where we assume a higher level of civilization we have to use a higher standard of treating ourselves and those around us. Common courtesy if you will.

I profoundly hope that the mushers love the spirit of competition and the companionship and the hard work of their dogs more than the need to assert their ego over their chattel. Misery comes natural to us, suffering is our greatest talent. Being good takes the hard work.

What not only breaks my heart but absolutely enrages me, are the reports of animal abuse and cruelty. I’m a big believer in that if someone kicks a dog, treats it inhumanely, kills it in the manner that’s been written in this article, etc etc., then that human should be punished in the same manner he treated his animals.

Radical maybe .. but perhaps the message would then be clear. Do unto others (including animals) as you’d have done unto you.

Dolphin

Seriously, don’t these people have more important issues to worry about? World War? Fuel Shortage? Global Warming? Maybe they just pick on this sport because it is easy to do. Come to Alaska and check it out for yourselves, tree huggers.