Beating incident brings bad image

The sport of dog mushing recently got another black eye, as a musher was videotaped beating a dog during the Copper Basin 300. It only adds fuel to the fire of opponents of the sport, and such incidents are only going to hurt an otherwise great sport.

It is unfortunate that one ugly incident and anytime a dog is beaten, it is ugly can ruin so many peoples image of the sport. Out of 1,000 mushers, 999 of them give their lives to their dogs, but it is that one musher who brings down a whole sport.

When an incident like the one in Copper Basin arises, it gets national coverage and opponents of the sport renew their opposition to dog mushing.

Immediately, there is an uproar about how cruel dog mushing is and that it needs to be ended. But those people need to take a closer look at what the sport truly is about, and it is not animal cruelty.

Virtually every musher Ive ever met has made it a point to give their dogs the best care in the world, from meals to training to shelter. Many receive the best nutrition available to canines, and the training has become world-class in recent years.

When one of these canine athletes develops a limp, the dog is immediately checked out by a veterinarian. Sled dogs are checked by veterinarians at least five times more than an average house pet, and thats because the mushers are determined to give the best care to their four-legged athletes. There are groups set up in the dog-mushing community devoted solely to the advancement of dog care. Often, mushers get together to discuss better training techniques and nutrition.

On the trail, the dogs are the mushers companions, and relationships develop. Two years ago, Sterling musher Mitch Seavey was resting during his 24-hour layover in McGrath when one of his dogs, named Elvis, got loose. A frantic search ensued, and Seavey was reduced to tears.

The dog was found, but you saw how much Seavey cared for his dogs. The thought of beating one would never have entered into his mind. After Elvis sightings were reported all over town, Seavey finally captured his own version of the King. After two hours of searching, he didnt kick the canine. He hugged it. And most every musher would do the same thing in the situation.

Those kinds of stories rarely are read by the same people hell-bent on ending dog mushing, because those stories dont support the anti-mushers arguments.

Copper Basin 300 official Jon Van Zyle says that when they identify the musher on the videotape, they are going to hang em high, by fining the offender and sending out incident reports to every major dog race in the country, and worldwide. Thats great, because the sport of dog mushing does not need the negative exposure it gets by one idiot with a team of dogs.

One moron who does not care about his dogs does not mean every musher treats his dogs the same way. It is quite the opposite, actually, but that gets lost by a lot of people when they are talking about the horrors.

Dog mushing is a great Alaskan tradition, and a sport in which there are 100 positive stories for every negative one. Unfortunately, incidents like the one in Copper Basin get all the headlines while stories of mushers doing everything in their power to advance dog care get overlooked.

Casey Ressler (ressler@alaska.net) is the Frontiersman sports editor.