Monday's big box o' links

Musher Sebastian Schnuelle [first in the 2009 Yukon Quest, 2nd in the 2009 Iditarod] rocks the earflaps-up look at the Iditarod restart in Wasilla. ADN photo by Bill Roth.

The official Iditarod site is awful, and not just because of a certain inescapable quitter. So ditch the official site, race addicts, and click on this link for awesome Iditarod coverage courtesy of the Anchorage Daily News. Feature stories, a blog, tweets, interactive maps: ADN wins it in a walk. I'm cheering for DeeDee Jonrowe [and her mom] and Colleen Robertia:

Several dogs in Robertia's Rogues Gallery Kennel — mostly "runts, rejects, retirees or rescues," she said — were rescued from the Kenai Animal Shelter and Alaska's Extended Life Animal Sanctuary in Nikiski. Others weren't wanted or needed by area mushers.

"I think they ended up taking two or three dogs from us," Tim Colbath, founder of the sanctuary, said of the Robertias.

"I hope she can finish it. To be able to take the time and knowledge to go through the rescues and get them to work together like that is just phenomenal." [Source: ADN.]

Penny, Colleen's lead dog, weighs a whopping 29 pounds — all of it heart. [That's Penny, top left, from the ADN.] Go, Colleen and Penny!

A few fave photos from the ADN:
The dangerous Mr. Mackey
Team Jonrowe
OMG, this is begging for a caption
Karen Ramstead's gorgeous Siberians

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Have an elderly Rottweiler? Dr. David J. Waters [pdf] really wants to meet you. Actually, he wants to meet your Rottie. Dr. Waters is traveling from coast to coast in order to see as many geriatric Rottweilers as he can:

The complete itinerary of the tour includes: March 11, Harrisburg, Pa.; March 12, Holliston, Mass.; March 13, Philadelphia; March 15, Keysville, Va.; March 16, Columbia, Tenn.; March 19, Cambridge, Wis.; March 20, Riverside, Iowa; March 21, Alma, Kan.; March 23, Red Oak, Texas; March 24, Castle Rock, Colo.; March 27, Colorado Springs, Colo.; March 28, Tijeras, N.M.; March 29, Waddell, Ariz.; March 30, San Diego; April 1, Pacific Palisades, Calif.; and April 3, Seattle.

Waters leads a research team that studies aging and cancer in pet dogs. The research includes the study of exceptionally long-lived Rottweilers - individuals that have lived to at least 13 years, which is equivalent to a human living to 100.

"These exceptional dogs have lived at least 30 percent longer than average for their breed," Waters said. "They have dodged cancer and other life-threatening diseases of aging. We believe studying them can shed light on what it takes to live well."

Over the years, Waters and his team have tracked the lives of more than 140 long-lived Rottweilers. Today, however, their database is down to just 15, hence the tour to meet these exceptionally aged canines.

"From questionnaires completed by owners and veterinarians, my team has validated dates of birth and collected a mountain of information about these dogs, including medical history, diet and dietary supplement usage, and parents' longevity," said Waters, who is also associate director of Purdue's Center on Aging and the Life Course and professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences.

At each stop, he will perform a physical examination, collect DNA samples, and record measurements such as height and chest and belly circumference. He will observe each dog in its home environment and query owners on what makes their dog exceptional.

Read more here, from Jennifer Viegas at Discover News: Oldest Rottweilers Inspire 'The Old Grey Muzzle Tour'.

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Keep. your dog. on a damn. leash. [H/T: DeltaBluez Stockdogs.] Heather points out that a little training wouldn't hurt, either. Speaking as one who has owned sheep: most people who say their unleashed dog has a reliable recall are either delusional or lying.

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Videos:
Canadian dude needs some viral help for a worthy cause. You got it, dude.
I love Local Commercials salutes Butt Drugs of Corydon, Indiana.
OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - Rube Goldberg Machine version. Yes, 20 billion people have seen it already, but maybe you missed it. I'm here to help.
A journey through Asia. Moving and beautiful.

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What an 8.8 [and the ensuing tsunami] can do, from The Big Picture.

• Conception, Chile, shifted 10 feet to the west.
• Santiago, Chile’s capital, was displaced about 11 inches to the west-southwest.
• Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, moved about 1 inch to the west.

Sure am glad a 7.5 is the most we can expect in these parts! [See A Faults (pdf).] Oh, yeah, nothing to worry about here.

Seriously folks, those of us along the southern [strike-slip fault] San Andreas will never experience the kind of subduction zone thrust-faulting they have in Chile [and in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest]. San Andreas — big-ass quakes. Subduction zones — frikkin' humongous quakes.

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Last, but not least — if you plan to be in the San Diego area in late March, you might want to attend Safer Pet Vaccination and Health Care: An Educational Seminar and Benefit. You'll spend the day with pet vaccination experts Drs. W. Jean Dodds and Ronald D. Schultz, and proceeds will go to the Rabies Challenge Fund. The seminar/benefit will be held at the Del Mar Hilton [across from the Del Mar Fairgrounds and Racetrack] on Sunday, March 28, 2010.

Sled dogs

It's one of the best collections of sled dog photos ever, all posted at The Big Picture. Most are from Europe, including the gem below. Look! Bijou is herding!



Meanwhile, the Iditarod is just around the corner. Drug tests this year — for the mushers:

The Iditarod plans to test mushers for drugs and alcohol in March, a change many mushers have no problem with -- but one that three-time champion Lance Mackey scoffs at.

"I think it's a little bit ridiculous," Mackey said Wednesday night from his home near Fairbanks after a training run. "It is a dog race, not a human race. It (using a drug) doesn't affect the outcome of the race."

Mackey, a throat cancer survivor who has a medical marijuana card, admits to using marijuana on the trail and thinks his success has made some of his competitors jealous.

"It isn't the reason I've won three years in a row," said Mackey, though he concedes marijuana helps him stay awake and focused during the 1,100-mile race that takes winners nearly 10 days to complete. [ADN]

As a supporter of California's "legalize it, regulate it and tax it" initiative, I'm rooting for Lance. [Full disclosure: your blogger never smoked, but did inhale. Damn dorm-room hippies.]

I'll watch the Iditarod as always, though each year it feels more like a countdown to the inevitable dog deaths. Six dogs died last year. And yes, they "love to run"; but breeding dogs with off-the-charts drive and then pushing them not merely beyond their capacity but to their deaths — holy crap, Iditarod people, this is not what the serum run to Nome was all about. Wake up, smell the medical marijuana, and create an exciting race that doesn't kill dogs every frikkin' year.

Related:
Brutal
Iditarod links, and a moment of silence, dammit

Brutal

Cim Smyth and his team reach Kaltag after 150 miles on the frozen Yukon River, mushing into winds of up to 40 mph. Wind chills during the Iditarod this year have reached -45 degrees F. "Brutal winds have slowed the 37th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to a crawl." ADN photos and race coverage here.

Three dogs dead, so far. Two from Lou Packer's team died during an awful night on the trail. Packer described the situation for a reporter, and I listened to the audio ["Lou Packer discusses the life-threatening weather"] and thought, two good dogs died on account of this chucklehead?! Packer zipped himself into his sled bag and apparently left the dogs outside in the blizzard to fend for themselves. From the ADN:

Iditarod officials confirmed the dog deaths and said necropsies were planned to determine how the animals died. Thin-coated huskies have been an issue of concern among Iditarod veterinarians in recent years. Concerns have been growing that such dogs might fall victim to exposure.

Gosh darn it [slaps forehead] — now you tell us!

Dunno if the Iditarod is still the race I hate to love. The race I hate to hate, maybe. No belt buckle is worth a dead dog.

Related:
Iditarod links, and a moment of silence, dammit

Iditarod links, and a moment of silence, dammit

What we all love to see: "Jeff King's wheel dogs Lobben and Guinness are still rearing to go as they get checked into Ruby on Friday, March 7. Both dogs are leased from Kenai musher Jon Little." Photo by Photo by Bob Hallinen for the Anchorage Daily News.

From Iditarod Race Talk:

IDITAROD WEBSITES

*Please note: all comments/descriptions are by the Cabela/Iditarod crew at Iditarod Race Talk, linked above.*

[Updated for the 2008 Iditarod]

OFFICIAL IDITAROD WEBSITE (Streaming live coverage, archived videos & more, but to see much of it you need to subscribe to Iditarod Insider for $19.95/yr)
http://www.iditarod.com

BSSD TALK FORUMS (Very active Iditarod talk forums! If you're an Iditarod junkie or a complete newbie to the sport, you are welcome here. People of ALL ages participate in these moderated forums.)
http://mushing.bssd.org/forum/

BSSD CHAT ROOM (This is the best chat room and it worked flawlessly last year. Open to all ages.)
http://mushing.bssd.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=35&Itemid=46

BSSD IDITAPROJECT (The Bering Strait School Distict's Iditaproject allows students to act as new media journalists. Students living along the trail provide news and trail condition updates, videos, pictures, a forum area, and live chat. In addition, schools can sign up for free, live video conferences during the race that focus on the history, culture and mushing traditions of the villages that make up BSSD.)
http://mushing.bssd.org/index.php?option=com_frontpage&Itemid=1

IDITAROD CURRENT OFFICIAL STANDINGS
http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/currentstandings.html

IDITAROD 2008 RACE LOGS
http://www.iditarod.com/race/race/logs/log.html

IDITAROD 2008 PRESS RELEASES
http://www.iditarod.com/press/

OFFICIAL MAP OF THE IDITAROD (Includes distances between checkpoints)
http://iditarod.com/race/route.html

LIVE GPS MUSHER TRACKING (This is a special test program you can use to track select mushers in real-time.)
http://www.iditarod.com/race/ionearth.html

EARTHSLOT'S COVERAGE OF THE 2008 IDITAROD IN 3D (Movies of the trail flythrough, data updates of musher locations & more) *Newly updated! Check this out!
2008 EarthSLOT Data Mashup:
http://www.earthslot.org/iditarod/index.php
Google Earth KML File Download:
http://glink.gina.alaska.edu/public/iditarod/iditarod2008.kml
*If you have any trouble getting this to work, please email me. This site is absolutely amazing!!!

KTUU-TV CHANNEL 2 (Reports from the trail including lots of videos)
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/category.asp?C=118724&nav=menu510_4_3

ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS (Lots of articles and pictures)
http://www.adn.com/iditarod/

JOHN LITTLE'S BLOG (Updates, Pictures)
http://iditarodblogs.com/news/

SLED DOG PODCAST (Podcast interviews)
http://sleddogpodcast.com/

DOGSLED.COM (Updates, Podcasts, Talk Forums)
http://www.dogsled.com/

IDITABLOG.COM (Features Josh Rogers' blog and podcasts in partnership with Dogsled.com)
http://www.iditablog.com/

ALASKA PUBLIC RADIO (Reports from the trail)
http://www.iditarod.aprn.org/

THE ALASKA PODSHOW PODCAST (Updates, Videos, Live Streams)
http://alaskapodshow.com/

CROW VILLAGE IDITAROD BLOG (Updates, Pictures)
http://feyer1.blogspot.com/

TEAM & TRAIL MAGAZINE/BLOG (Team & Trail is an online mushing news magazine.)
http://www.team-and-trail.com/

SLED DOG CENTRAL (News, Articles, etc)
http://www.sleddogcentral.com/

SLEDDOGGIN (News, Articles, etc)
http://www.sleddoggin.com/

WUNDERGROUND (Northern Route Map with weather and race info. Click on a checkpoint and get the weather. Click between two checkpoints to find out the distance between the checkpoints, the total distance traveled and the distance to go.)
http://icons.wunderground.com/graphics/iditarod_north.swf

ACCUWEATHER.COM (Enhanced infrared satellite map of Alaska)
http://www.accuweather.com/maps-satellite.asp?partner=accuweather&traveler=1&site=AK_&type=ei&anim=1&large=1

GOOGLE EARTH IDITAROD FLYBY
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=http://bbs.keyhole.com/ubb/download.php?Number=321702&t=k&om=1

ULTIMATE IDITAROD (There will be no updates or commentary this year. Tyrell was recently married and Jim is finishing up medical school, and both are extremely busy. But there's some interesting information on their site so I'll leave the link up.)
http://www.ultimateiditarod.com

IDAHOCLIFF'S IDITAROD LINKS (Links & some very helpful information)
http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/iditarodlinks.html

IDAHOCLIFF'S 2008 ARCHIVES (with comments as to how the leaders are doing at various points along the way)
http://home.custertel.net/~ckeene41/Archive08.htm


MUSHERS' WEBSITES & BLOGS

TEAM NORWAY (Updates, Pictures, Chat, Talk Forums)
http://hurdal.com/124/ncms/main.php?M=avis

KAREN RAMSTEAD (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.northwapiti.com/training.html

PAUL GEBHARDT (Pictures, Updates by his wife)
http://www.aspenhollowlodging.com/content.asp?CAT_ID=27

JEFF KING (Updates, Pictures)
http://huskyhomestead.blogspot.com/

KEN ANDERSON (Pictures, Updates by his wife)
http://windycreekkennelcom.h993011.serverkompetenz.net/nc/kennel-updates/blog.html

MARTIN BUSER (Updates, Pictures; click on the "Rohn" link for information about Martin's son and Iditarod rookie, Rohn Buser.)
http://www.buserdog.com

ALIY ZIRKLE & ALLEN MOORE (Updates, Pictures)
http://spkenneldoglog.blogspot.com/

LANCE MACKEY (Updates, Pictures -- Be sure to read the archived stories about Lance's 2008 Yukon Quest win)
http://www.mackeyscomebackkennel.com/

ED STIELSTRA & JAKE BERKOWITZ (Updates, Pictures -- Scroll down for the updates)
http://www.natureskennel.com/

CLINT WARNKE (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.warnkeracing.com/Blog.aspx

WARREN PALFREY (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.northernstarkennels.com/default.aspx?blog=1

RICK HOLT (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.mushingdogs.com/rick/

JESSIE ROYER (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.huskypower.com/jessie/jessie.html

GERRY WILLOWMITZER (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.gerrywillomitzer.com/

JOHN KORTA (Updates, Pictures)
http://web.mac.com/korta/Borealis_Kennel/Dog_Blog/Dog_Blog.html

ANNE CAPISTRANT (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.hoofnwoof.com/

JENNIFER & BLAKE FREKING (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.racingsiberians.com/Journal/index.html

TOM ROIG (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.towpathtrails.com/MikesSites/VRO/vroDiary/diary.php3?startat=9

DEBORAH BICKNELL (Updates, Pictures)
http://s219120714.onlinehome.us/

GB JONES (Updates, Pictures)
http://www.alaskanmusher.com/

And a moment of silence, please, for the first dog to die in this year's Iditarod: Zaster, a seven year old male dog on rookie John Stetson's team. Damn, damn, damn. Poor John. Poor, poor Zaster.

Dog deaths in the Iditarod are generally traced to gastric ulcers. On her excellent web site, Iditarod veteran Karen Ramstead [who dropped out of the race last year following the death of her beloved lead dog, Snickers] has more information about gastric ulcers and about the Snickers Memorial/Ulcer Research Fund. Excerpts:

Nine different studies that have included, in some manner, endoscopic examination of sled dogs after exercise [...] have yielded relatively consistent results:

· Approximately half of all dogs running a significant distance (100 miles/day or more) had evidence of stomach ulcers, provided they were not receiving any medication intended to reduce or eliminate the problem.

· Endoscopic evidence of stomach ulcers can be found after as little as a single 100 mile run at a modest (8-9 mph) pace.

· The severity of the stomach ulcers does not seem to be greatly influenced by how long the dogs are working (i.e., how many consecutive days), but may be related to how hard the dogs are working (i.e., how many miles/day).

· In the majority of dogs, ulcers heal with 3-5 days of rest, so that during pre-exercise exams, most dogs do not have visible evidence of stomach ulcers.

· We have found no evidence that a particular blood line or feeding strategy is related to stomach ulcers in sled dogs (although these issues have not been thoroughly investigated).

· We have found minimal evidence of certain dogs being predisposed to ulcers.

Chemical tests of [sled dogs' stomachs] have also provided evidence that the stomach is leakier during exercise than normal, and that may be part of the overall development of the ulcers by letting stomach acid leak into the wall of the stomach and damage it. There is some evidence that the dog's response to the stress of running can cause that leakiness, but this is not a certainty, since it is possible that the leakiness causes the stress, rather than vice versa. We are reasonably certain that stomach ulcers in sled dogs are not caused by bacteria (like in humans) or by the type of food being fed (like in horses) based on tests of the stomach biopsies and analysis of the distribution of the ulcers within the stomach.

Which raises the question: have modern-day shepherds whose dogs run great distances each day during lambing season ever noted a problem similar to the gastric ulcers suffered by sled dogs? Hunters whose hounds run all night long — have you noted a problem? And how is it that Iditarod mushers whose teams finish consistently in the top twenty manage, by and large, to keep their dogs so healthy? I wish I knew. Hoping not to jinx the man: here's Iditarod record holder Martin Buser, who has never lost a dog.



Buser has a tradition at the finish line: he turns his dogs loose. They roll, shake, sniff and roam a bit — and actually return to him when called. I heart Martin. His son Rohn [named after a race checkpoint] is competing in his first Iditarod this year. Good luck and healthy teams to them both.

"Musk, you huskies! I said Musk!"

The kicker: no dogs or musk oxen [or people] were harmed during production of this photo. Shot of a lifetime by Heather Williams. Larger version here, at AlaskaStock.com.

The 2008 Iditarod starts March 1. Northern Route, this year. 1112 miles to Nome. Fastest time: eight days. I'll be rooting [as usual] for Martin Buser, who holds that record, and cheering the memory of Susan Butcher, one of my generation's most inspiring and courageous women.

In honor of The Race I Hate to Love The Last Great Race , here is an only-in-Alaska story from last October [hat tip: the redoubtable Tranquilis, Iditarod authority and fellow race junkie]. From the Anchorage Daily News:

Seventeen-year-old musher Melissa Owens was a mile into a training run last week in Nome when she saw a musk ox standing on the left side of the road. She stopped her dogs so the woolly beast could cross to the other side.

"Then all of a sudden the bushes come alive, and I think, ohhh, this can't be good," Owens said. "There's more musk ox in there, isn't there?"

Sixteen more, to be precise. Just yards away from 23 huskies, including two young and curious leaders.

"The dogs see them and say, 'Oh yay, buddies! Let's go check them out!' " Owens said.

At first, it looked like the herd wasn't interested in the dogs. The animals milled around a bit and then headed up a hill toward Nome's old Army hospital. Owens, behind the wheel of the truck her dogs were pulling, inched her team forward.

And then?

"Chaos takes place," Owens said.

Shy Girl and Kiwi, the young leaders, veered to the right, provoking the musk ox and setting off the first of three charges.

Heather Williams, sitting next to Owens in the truck, leaned out the window with a camera and snapped one of the most unbelievable photos you'll ever see: A herd of hulking musk ox headed straight toward 23 dogs harnessed to a gangline and tangled in a knot.

"I remember them stomping and snorting and grunting and stuff, and I remember the dogs barking," Owens said. "They were almost nose-to-nose. The big bull charged them and the dogs did exactly what you see in the photo."

Panic frikkin' City. Read the rest here. Credit to the now eighteen-year-old Owens and 21-year-old Williams for managing to unhook six dogs and pull the rest to the relative safety of the truck. Owens said, "It's by the glory of God that we're still alive and I didn't spend the day in the emergency room or the vet's office." Alaska: where men are men, and Melissa Owens wins the [2005 Junior] Iditarod...

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A few more thoughts on The Race I Hate to Love: maybe, please God please, no huskies will die this year. [That would be a first.] Maybe not a single team will have to be led/cajoled/dragged out of the last eight or ten checkpoints. Race defenders: "We don't make these dogs run -- they love to run!" Believe me, we know they do. But after 700 or 800 miles in four or five days, many, if not most of these tremendous canine athletes aren't eager to hit the trail. See the anonymous musher in the photo? That's a consistent top 20 finisher [not Susan, not Martin, not Lance, not the disgraced Ramy] trying to leave Unalakleet, with hundreds of miles still to go. If I were in charge, a situation like the one in the photo would mean a mandatory 48-hour rest. If these superbly conditioned dogs aren't willing to step out briskly with the musher on the sled runners, they've been pushed too hard.

And on that cheery note [damn you, Iditarod!], here are a few of the links I'll be checking each day:

The official Iditarod site
Anchorage Daily News
Cabela's [their coverage now merged with the official site]
Martin Buser's site
2007 winner Lance Mackey's site

My wish for the 2008 Iditarod: that all the dogs enjoy it from start to finish.