The little noticed public transportation system in Alaska’s largest city appears on the verge of getting more attention than the managers of People Mover ever imagined.
Think of a mobile version of the movie “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” directed not at local law enforcement but at the state’s biggest sporting event, and you’ll get the idea of what’s going on.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, a Norfolk, Va.-based animal rights group with its political power in California, has purchased advertisements on the sides of Anchorage buses to poke a finger in the eye of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, which starts in the city on March 2.
Whether PETA stole the idea from Hollywood is unclear. A phone call to PETA late Monday went to a phone recorder that promised a media call back in 15 minutes. It never came.
Meanwhile, Iditaworld was exploding across social media with the first blows directed inward at Anchorage’s small mass-transit system.
#boycottPeopleMover kicked off the emotional venting before Anchorage artist, photographer and filmmaker Scott Slone weighed in with a more practical idea on Facebook.
Busboard war!
“Setup a GoFundMe page, raise the money, come up with a counter advertisement to run on other People Mover buses,” he wrote. “We should be able to raise that and execute it, or at least ITC (the Iditarod Trail Committee) should.
“The approach should be a kill them with kindness approach, the love and spirit behind a race so embedded in Alaska culture.”
For only $750 a week, a total of $2,250 for three weeks, he said, sled dog fans could buy two panels on the buses, one on the rear and one curbside.
In a personal message, Slone sounded slightly more skeptical about his idea than he did on Facebook.
“Couldn’t help myself,” he wrote. “(But) here’s the thing, that post won’t do anything because it’s a solution, not filled with drama.”
Slone gets the world as Americans know it on the verge of the year 2020.
And there was no doubt a lot of emotional venting was screaming through the tubes after the first news of PETA’s latest plan appeared.
New news
As with so much news these days, it broke first in social media. Can you say “Covington kids?”
Craigmedred.news picked the story up from Alaska Mushing News, a Facebook page, but admittedly did not hue to the PETA dictated narrative:
“‘When not being forced to run from Anchorage to Nome so fast that their hearts can give out, the dogs are chained to barrels or wooden boxes in the ice and snow,’ says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. ‘PETA is calling on kind people everywhere to demand an end to the outdated, cruel use of dogs in the Iditarod and urging organizers to have the race evolve by featuring human endurance racers, cross-country skiers, or snowmobilers instead.'”
That narrative is simply inaccurate. Iditarod is a demanding race. It puts stress on both dogs and mushers, but no dogs are forced to run. As a simple, practical matter, nobody is going to get from the start to the finish very fast if he or she is wasting time beating on dogs to get them to go.
Iditarod mushers select for dogs genetically programmed to run and then condition them to keep at the job by rewarding them for hard work. Some mushers love their sled dogs the way little old ladies love their lap dogs. Others look at them more like old-fashioned work animals no different from draft horses or Third World oxen.
Some involved with sled-dog racing in Alaska have been working for years to improve dog care across the board in the 49th state. PETA’s protest did nothing to aid them and may have served to hurt them.
As with so many issues in America today, aggression is met with aggression. People are pushed to join a tribe. The tribes unite as the us against the them or the them against the us.
Pick your side.
On social media Monday, Iditafans were clearly choosing a side. A sampling:
“…Maybe a call out for people to boycott the buses. Hit them where it counts – money. They won’t put the signs on again.”
“Did they mention how many thousands of animals that they kill that come through their shelters? Oh no, no, no, just pick on other people.”
“Flood the Mayor’s office and Assembly with calls and demand that they explain how this was allowed to happen. It is in direct conflict with the city’s support of the race and the state sport.”
“We are amazed how happy these (Iditarod) dogs are and taken care of. PETA needs to check out our area in North Carolina with the hunting dogs.”
“I’ll bet most PETA idiots are in total support of aborting human babies right up to birth….”
Most comments were strong on emotion, but short on thought. People Mover is a public entity. Once it decides to engage in raising funds by selling advertising, the First Amendment comes into play as Slone tried to point out.
The Municipality of Anchorage can legally get away with turning down ads that are in bad taste, but PETA’s ad – while possibly distasteful to many if not most Alaskans – is not in bad taste.
Thus, as Slone argued, a new strategy is required to fight back. Hopefully not the one used in the movie.
Correction: An earlier version of this story placed PETA’s headquarters in the wrong state.
Categories: News, Uncategorized
“One critic is experienced Iditarod musher Zoya DeNure, a former model who fell in love with the sport after meeting a woman in her home state of Wisconsin who had a sprint racing kennel.
But in mushing, according to DeNure, not everyone agrees on how the dogs should be treated.
“The dogs have no legal protection here,” DeNure said. “People can go out into the woods and shoot their dog for whatever reason. Sometimes that might be injury, sometimes it’s because they’re too old to race. They’ll make remarks like, ‘This guy isn’t running so well, we’re gonna get rid of him,’ as if he’s a piece of furniture or a machine. And these people are lauded in the public eye.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.thedodo.com/amphtml/close-to-home/iditarod-race-sled-dog-cruelty-allegations
Steve Stine
Just because 1 person did this to his dogs, does not mean every Musher does this!! This is like blaming every gun owner for the few who kill others with them! Or blaming all vehicle owners for the few who get drunk and kill others with their vehicles!!!This guy obviously does not represent me, nor any musher that i know! This guy deserves to rot in a jail cell, for the horrible things that he did to his dogs! As for the Mush with pride.. I have been Mushing for over 10 years and been a member of Mush with pride for almost the same amount of time! I have never seen, or read the statements that you claimed that they said. Maybe this was their stance long ago, but they certainly do not stand by this practice now! Organizations adapt and change their rules, to better themselves and the Mushing community.. Just because you say that they claimed to do something in the past, does not mean that they do this now! The past is the past, and this is definitely not how they represent the community now!!
Do you really think we Mushers would shoot our dogs dead when we are done with them? This is the most idiotic thing i have ever heard!!! Competitive mushers either give away or sell Their dogs that they do not want. Many stay in their kennels to work with puppy teams, or to just become pets. These dogs are loved like children, and they are better taken care of than most other pets. Food, vaccines, and veterinarian costs are not cheap, and do you really think that these dogs.. Can be fed crap food, run without being vaccinated against everything that can harm them, and not get vet care, and run as many miles as they do?? Mushers spend thousand of dollars to condition their dogs to be able to run these miles.. It takes years to build their dogs up to be able to run many miles a day.. We do not take malnourished dogs, and beat them to submission to get them to pull us around! These dogs run and pull for the pure love that they get from it! We can not make them do this if they do not want to do it!. These dogs are bred to be pullers and runners! This is what they love to do!!
Hamosia12,
I tend to agree with you that the dogs actually enjoy the cold and work. They are bred for it.
“Northern breeds have evolved for thousands of years to keep warm under frigid conditions. These breeds are the dogs we tend to think of as Spitz-like, with thick stand-off coats, small pricked ears, and medium to stocky builds. They include breeds such as the Siberian Husky, Alaskan Malamute, and Samoyed as well as mixes of Husky-type dogs.
When the temperature plunged to minus 130 degrees F in the 1973 Iditarod, it was the mushers, not the dogs, who complained. Northern breeds seem to think nothing of sub-freezing temperatures, and seem happiest when the thermometer registers between minus 20 and plus 10 degrees F.”
https://www.dogster.com/lifestyle/dog-health-breeds-survive-subzero-temperatures-malamute-samoyed-husky
Hamosia12,
When you said:
“Do you really think we Mushers would shoot our dogs dead when we are done with them?”
My first thought was the words “done with them”…
You see my dogs are with me for their Entire Natural Life, something rarely seen in today’s competitive corporate mushing economy.
My second thought is does this person know Bob Fawcett who was “Mush with Pride” Vice President?
The same Mush with Pride organization that was adopted by the Iditarod as overseeing agency?
Mush with Pride put out a handbook with the diagram of where to shoot the dog in the head.
I have a copy of the picture if you would like me to send it to you in an email?
They have since taken it down from their site.
So here is some testimony from Bob Fawcett’s animal abuse trial in B.C.
“The hearing opened with prosecutor Nicole Gregoire reading an agreed statement of facts. In the statement, Mr. Fawcett described in grisly detail how he killed the dogs – some were shot, some stabbed. There were gasps and tears as the killings were relived.
In one instance, he described the killing of Suzie, the mother of his family’s pet dog, Bumble. The blast from his gun wounded the dog horribly, but it survived. Eventually he had to use a gun with a scope to finish it off at a distance. Another dog attacked him when he went to retrieve the body.
Mr. Fawcett also performed what he described as “execution-style” killings, where he wrestled some of the dogs to the ground and stood on them with one foot to shoot them. He said one of the dogs survived the first bullet and being tossed in a mass grave. He said he then had to climb into the grave to finish the killing.”
https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.theglobeandmail.com/amp/news/british-columbia/fawcett-spared-jail-time-in-sentencing-related-to-sled-dog-killings/article5566662/
Should have been pretty obvious to everybody after Trump’s SOTU which side of the isle you are of this “divided” nation. Those that want to make America great or those crazies that want to tear it down.
Loons are in the room – “CNN’s Van Jones calls Trump speech ‘cookies and dog poop’— Press doles out snark, sarcasm and opposition – The anti-Trump media greeted the president’s speech with snark, sarcasm and outright opposition.
CNN commentator Van Jones blasted the presentation “as a psychotically incoherent speech with cookies and dog poop.”
MSNBC’s Chuck Todd attacked the speech before it ever happened, claiming it was “shaping up to be a night of absurdist theater.”
Come on Jack, I think the Democrat side of the isle was a disgrace last night, from Pelosi, AOC, Bernie, Waters, Van Jones, and the rest. Pathetic children who have more in common with Stalin, Chavez, Maduro, Castro, than George Washington.
I have no blind allegiance towards Trump. Compared to Obama’s weak, bowing foreign policy, Trump is a breath of fresh air. China, N. Korea, Venezula, NAFTA, Paris Accords, troop withdraws, etc.. – Making America Great Again! Nancy Pelosi flies a taxpayer funded 757 home every weekend to see her family and Trump has his own airlines. The difference is Trump is a savvy businesman who knows how to run a business, unlike our slimy politicians who maintain their positions for financial profit. Trump gains NOTHING AND LOSES EVERYTHING by being President. He has openned the body and exposed a cancer that we all knew was consuming us but, were to scared to admit it. Sadly, Trump is forced to surround himself with “yes” men who are politicians (to include Mattis and Kelly) who have their own self serving interests in mind over the countries. So yes, when I see the Democrat Party embracing failed socialism or gleefully embracing out of the womb murder of a child, I say – GO TRUMP!!!
Should be pretty obvious to everybody after Bryan’s comment which side of the isle you are on. Those who want to do what Bryan thinks is best for the country, and everyone else.
Come on, Bryan, you can do better than throwing down statements like that. Just because people disagree with Trump doesn’t make them crazy – in fact, I would argue the opposite. Blind allegiance is dangerous, my man. There are plenty of people (including myself) that dislike Trump as a human – I think he’s a con man, however, I am happy with a few things that he’s done – China trade and the tax cut are the only things that I can think of that have been positive for the country. By far, most of what he has done has been bad for our country. Example: He’s been making Obama look like an ambassador of American greatness when it comes to our relationships with our allies around the world. You had best be careful when you run your mouth like he does, you might need all the friends you can get your hands on when someone decides to slap your face… (obviously talking about the US and vs the world, not you personally). Trump has really been off the rails since Gen’s Mattis and Kelly ‘retired’ from his administration. Those were the only 2 dudes keeping the pres in line.
Cheers!
Response is above. Damn, I left off Schumer though..
Hey Bryan, I’m not defending the dems, I’m just saying that Trump is not the model of human that I will ever emulate. He has as many faults as the dems that you are slamming (not that I don’t have plenty of faults too!). I wonder how many babies have been aborted that were his DNA? Do you really think that this POS who hires hookers and goes through wives like I used to go through beers gives a rip about abortion? If you think that he does, you’ve got to see this property that I have for sale! And also, he doesn’t give 2 poops about the repubs either – he’s going to stroke whomever is going to give him what he wants. Someone who is brash to the point of ignoring his expert advisors is not someone who should be in charge of our nukes. Someone who is on his 3rd wife and still just wants to grab ’em by the pussy should not be in charge of foreign relationships. I’m a little shocked to see you hammering on Mattis and Kelly – 2 real Americans who have literally given the best years of their lives to our country and as soon as they ‘retire’ the Trump heads start bashing them. Do you know anything that these men have done for our country? Self serving – what a load of crap. Do you seriously think that a businessman has what it takes without those advisors to go toe to toe with our enemies and not get his ass kicked? Well… guess what? We’re getting our ass kicked all over the globe right now. I think that the Trumpers started to fragment a little bit after those losing Mattis and Kelly though, I know that my brother and father who are both retired Marines have started looking at him differently. I guess the Trump luster has started to fade for them. Sorry friend, I don’t mean to come off as an A-hole, and I truly appreciate your enthusiasm for our country, but I just feel that you need to lay off the bumper sticker issues so much – there is actually nuance with people and the world in general. I mean, I can almost guarantee that I am a bigger fiscal conservative than you (I like to say that Ronald Regan was a liberal spender and I think that the PFD is the definition of socialism), but I try to look at liberty as the greatest part of being an American so when I see you trying to beat other commenters down with your viewpoints, I feel that you come across as someone who doesn’t give a rip about other peoples opinions OR RIGHTS to have them.
I’m sure we’ll be talking again, and I do truly want to see YOUR ideas, not Breitbart or Fox News or Infowars with more that just a bumper sticker headline on them.
Cheers to you sir!
PS – Schumer is also a POS… as is Pelosi… as are ALL of them! Cheers!
Jack you underestimate the situation our nation is in . You also way over estimate Obama’s ability as ambassador. Did you not see the world mess he left the next man in office! Russia relations a disaster! North Korea relations a disaster! War after war after war ! China using us like a musician. You have not researched Obama well enough Nor dug into details of his legacy if you think he out shines trump . Trump has yet to completely prove himself but he is making a decent start . Obviously building personal relationships with n Korea and others . Sure he put the hammer down on our supposed friends . Those friends were not pulling there weight and needed called out per our trade and financial analysts. Your marine relations should be happy trump is upping the finances of the military. I know marines like to fight and must trust their advisors but you can’t compare that to a commander in chief . Commander is in opposite position. He must preserve and protect and think ahead keep his gallant soldiers safe . It’s not a job requirement of a commander to implicitly trust the analysis of his intelligence officials. In fact it’s a job requirement that the commander use his own brain and make his own decisions from intuition intelligence personal experience perspective and include the information from his officials . Currently our officials appear to have it ass backwards. Expecting the president/ commander to act like sheep and follow their advice. That’s not a leader that’s a follower. Did we all desire to elect a follower? Jack please rethink your position.
Hi Opinion,
You’re right, Obama was horrible at our foreign relations – I think that he was the worst foreign relations president until…. Trump. Please, don’t take my longing ‘for the good ‘ol days’ to mean that I think that Obama was a great or even good president. I think that he started our international slide around the world, was a complete hypocrite with ‘peace’ and ripped our economy a new one. Redistribution is crap. Anyway, I’m no fan of Obama, I just wish that Trump could figure out how to act like a decent human being.
Cheers friend!
How can an organization be taken seriously when it tried to rename fish by calling them “sea kittens”?
http://features.peta.org/PETASeaKittens/
Or this other group of hypocrites:
Amnesty International, a leading human rights NGO, is facing criticism after a damning report revealed the organization is suffering from a toxic work environment and is in a “state of emergency” due to rampant bullying, sexism, racism and overworking.
The report, written by the KonTerra Group, found an “us versus them” dynamic and breakdown of trust between senior management and other staff members. Numerous instances of bullying and public humiliation by the management were also found.
https://www.foxnews.com/world/amnesty-international-suffering-from-toxic-workplace-with-rampant-racism-sexism-bullying-report-finds
No surprise. Anchorage’s douche bag mayor is as left-leaning a Californian as you can get. So he welcomes nut case influence from his home state. He is always saying he wants to revitalize downtown. So how is negative publicity for downtown’s biggest event going to do that? Berkowitless is an idiot.
Bryan: Chickens, yuk!
Wow…
To think this picture is from Mitch Seavey’s “Champion” Iditarod kennel where he keeps hundreds of dogs to satisfy his desire to “win” at all costs to the freedom of K9’s….Alaskans should push to end tethering of animals on chains.
The USDA has outlawed this practice for commercial animals years ago yet somehow “sled dogs” were not included?
Not only do those loons murder babies but, they kill dogs as well. Usual leftist HYPOCRITES.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yFF6FFCASII
Bryan,
Are you aware that it is perfectly legal to shoot a sled dog in the head in Alaska whenever you are “done” with it?
These animals are considered “property” and have very little oversight or protection.
Organizations like “Mush with Pride” even posted diagrams online showing where to shoot unwanted dogs (in the head)…
I guess when we have a government who refers to immigrants as “animals”, we obviously see very little compassion from this government.
Hopefully folks notice these signs and are made aware of the life Thousands of dogs are forced to suffer through in Alaska.
Steve, come on… You know who they are, just repeat after me. We can take it slow. It will be fun – HY’PO’CRITE. See, not so painful.
Actually Bryan,
You are the Hypocrite!
This is free market Capitalism, the system you lauded to no end…
So if government officials will not end this inhumane treatment of “man’s best friend” then Activists will financially take away one sponsor at a time from the ITC’s budget (and they have been for years).
When Scott Slone said:
“We should be able to raise that and execute it, or at least ITC (the Iditarod Trail Committee) should.”
He forget how the ITC lost nearly 1/4 Million in sponsorship last year…
They have no extra money to fight these campaigns.
News Flash…
The financial support is switching sides and no amount of state sponsored propaganda can help this.
Like Bob Dylan once sang:
“The times, they are a changing.”
Steve, forgive me, I wasn’t labelling you a hypocrite. It was directed at PETA. So, I apologize if it came off that way. But, when I look at Alexander Cortex, Dylan’s words ring true -“times are a changing”. American’s become dumber by the day. Also, I think 99% of the people respect animals by nature and do the right thing, not because of some whacks over at PETA.
Bryan,
Fair enough,
You are entitled to your own opinion, but just so you know PETA is not some “Californian” based organization like Craig keeps reporting.
“PETA is an international nonprofit charitable organization based in Norfolk, Virginia, with affiliates worldwide.”
They have a large office in “California” yet they have offices around the world.
“Since 1980, PETA has campaigned to establish a global society…”
ITC’s problem is that most of the rest of (worldly) donors to PETA live in countries with much stronger animal welfare laws…like anti chaining and not using animals to exhaustion/ death.
This is just the modern world catching up to an old practice in Alaska, a trip to Nome that now can be made by bike or snowgo.
https://www.peta.org/about-peta/learn-about-peta/
Steve, some related rhetorical questions–merely rhetorical for the sake of discussion: which is the “happier, better cared-for” dog, a house pet that only gets to go outside a time or two daily to relieve itself, or better, maybe gets a daily walk, but never gets to perform what his breeding programmed him for–OR a dog that gets to do daily that which fulfills to the max what he has been genetically hard-wired to do?
Which is the healthier–a dog that is cooped up in a house and never gets enough exercise to raise his body conditioning to near his breed’s potential–OR one who is confined by a chain in his off hours, but then is allowed to fully express what his breed has craved to do since time immemorial–and gain a marathoner’s health and endurance in doing it?
It is plain you are not familiar with how Mitch treats his animals. You can’t mistreat them and gain the conditioning and maintain the spirited eagerness for the trail required to perform at his level. Yes, the dog in the picture is emaciated. It might be that it’s not even Mitch’s. If it is, it might be recuperating from sickness–dogs get sick, too. You can bet, however, that if it’s a Mitch dog, it is not representative of the health of his kennel.
It appears you’d like to end distance racing. I’m curious if you’ve thought through what would become of distance dogs as a type if you gained your ‘druthers..
If you are at all interested in saving the dogs, and while doing so, retaining their wonderfully performing type, it can’t be done by banning the very thing that kept them from oblivion: the Iditarod. In other words, if you want to save the type, it can’t be done by saving them from the race that saved them.
Hi Rod,
Thank you for the thought out reply…
I respect the sport of mushing and feel that huskies would still be around without the Iditarod since many breeders and kennels are non competitive throughout the state.
My problem with the current paradigm of racing & chaining (when not running) and large dog lots is that many of these large “kennels” cannot financial support the lifestyle they have begun and also tethering prevents dogs from social interaction which is also “hard wired” in their genes.
I have seen this at least a dozen times over the last dozen years in Alaska.
Dogs left alone on chains (many times emaciated and shivering) no one around and 30 below all week.
In 2010, Laura and I worked with a group of residents and borough assembly members to pass an “unattended kennel” ordinance in the Mat Su borough…many mushers told me it could not be done.
I was surprised my main opposition was from commercial kennel owners.
You would think that this group would never want a group of dogs left alone without a house or trailer or handler on site?
Prior to that ordinance, I routinely found up to 50 dogs left alone on chains with various levels of “development” onsite…many of these kennels were Iditarod mushers or “wanna be” musher / handlers who could not afford to maintain what they started.
Just right now the North Star borough animal shelter is full of “unwanted” sleddogs.
I have personally requested “freedom of information” from these shelters and have seen all kind of reasons for why mushers leave them their dogs many of which wind up Euthanized at Taxpayers expense.
One case said that the dog “overheated when he ran”…most were fairly healthy dogs who just did not wish to run that far anymore.
I adopted a retired sleddog who had run to Nome with two different mushers yet was left behind when his last owner was over AK and left the state.
This was Not how I felt dogs should live in Alaska.
You said:
“It is plain you are not familiar with how Mitch treats his animals”…
Well this is not true.
I have heard first hand accounts from two different past handlers at Mitch’s kennel (and one at Dallas’s kennel for that matter) to know enough of what goes on behind the scenes.
I have also read parts of Mitch’s book where he speaks of whipping “fluffy” with a stick to get the dog to do as he wishes.
This is not how I treat my dogs, but I allow my dogs to rest when they want to when we go out on skis…I also let them stop to pee or poop and they seem to prefer that as well.
I guess ultimately I feel mushers could have as much fun or more with their dogs without the corporate sponsored money to fuel the competitive cycle and the thousand mile race.
People Mover obviously is making a business choice and that is fine. PETA are a bunch of lunatics in my book but, this freedom also applies to both sides.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/sep/19/pamela-geller-new-york-buses-subways-islam-james-foley
I guess perfect timing for this one:
“ll bet most PETA idiots are in total support of aborting human babies right up to birth….”
“Senate Democrats – led by Washington Sen. Patty Murray – blocked a bill that would require babies born alive during abortion to receive reasonable medical care and transport to a hospital.
Nebraska Republican Sen. Ben Sasse introduced the Born-Alive Abortion Survivors Protection Act (S. 130) to protect babies who have survived failed abortions. Sasse went to the floor of the Senate Monday to ask his colleagues to pass the bill by unanimous consent, but Democrats objected.”
Bryan I think you are right about peta and what it is and who backs it . It is just a scam that helps no one and takes money from emotional good people to enrich itself. Capitalism gone bad . They are epitome of hypocrites. Look up petas history of dog murder and use of small pens keeping animals from enjoying life . America’s improvovment of animal care is good direction but it’s more to do with a changing culture ( for better ) that has money and time to consider welfare of animals and nothing to do with peta .
Thanks for the comeback, Steve. Always stimulating to discuss matters of disagreement with folks who stay civil, listen with an open ear, and keep an open mind. Kind of an offshoot, but I recall so well getting run-rest, pacing, and feeding advice during the first two Iditarods from some of the old Bush trappers. While they had decades in a village dog culture, and exceeded me in many phases, none had ever had any reason to run day after day for a thousand miles. I could see some of their advice was 180 off. But you know what? It got me thinking. In a couple instances I came up with pure dynamite. Kind of a tangential rabbit trail, but I think you can trace the thread. Maybe some day we’ll meet and can toss some ideas around.
By the way, not only have I watched and been a part of Iditarod since a couple years before the first run, I am the final living founder of the Official Finishers Club. Keep some patience with Iditarod, Steve. Upgrades are continually being considered and I think some evolution is on the way.
Rod,
Sounds good.
Feel free to email me at: steve.stine@yahoo.com anytime.
I have always been upfront with my attempts at animal welfare reform and have visited several commercial kennels throughout the state.
It is interesting you bring up advice from “old Bush trappers” as I have read several books detailing their experiences with sleddogs.
Many mushers back then only had dog teams with 6 or 7 dogs and I recall specific advice to “not have any more dogs than could go into the cabin at 40 below”…
This common thread is also where I gained many of my ideals for optimal dog care.
I understand the competition is valued by many kennel owners although I have always preferred the challenge of solo exploration without much “support crew” or trail grooming along the way.
I think that Iditarod culture has reached a point where “faster is not always better” and animal rights advocates share this concern.
Its the free-market, and left-wing nutjobs with the necessary $$$ can purchase space just like anyone else with the necessary $$$.
Burt, unfortunately the “nutjob” population is up and not limited to just left wingers.
My grandfather always impressed upon me that you can tell a lot about a person based on how they treat their dogs. Some people love their dogs. Others only love what their dogs can do for them.
Finally, same can be said about horses, Oxen, cows, chickens, etc..
Right-wing “nutjobs”, are no different, than other “nutjobs”, they are all completely nuts. Especially, during last two years, with Trump wannabes, believing they are the “new” political pundits, that have all the answers. Give me a break!