ITC Announcement on Further Tests from the 2024 Iditarod

Further testing has been completed for Bog, a 2-year-old male George, a 4-year-old male and Henry, a 3-year-old male, each who tragically passed away during the 2024 Iditarod.

As previously reported, gross necropsies were conducted on all three dogs by board-certified veterinary pathologists immediately after their passing, with each being given an undetermined cause of death.

Bog, a member of rookie Iditarod musher Issac Teaford’s team, collapsed approximately 200 feet from the Nulato checkpoint. There has been no determined cause of death for Teaford’s dog. Pursuant to Rule 42, which states that any dog death that occurs during the conduct of the race will result in immediate voluntary scratch by the musher, Teaford dropped from the race.

George, a dog with Hunter Keefe, collapsed on the trail roughly 35 miles outside of Kaltag enroute to Unalakleet. Attempts to revive George were unsuccessful.

Meanwhile, Henry, a three-year-old male from the race team of Calvin Daugherty, collapsed on the trail roughly 10 miles before reaching the Shaktoolik checkpoint. Daugherty administered CPR but unfortunately the attempts to revive Henry were unsuccessful.

Since the end of the 2024 Iditarod race, further extensive testing and review has been conducted by five veterinarians, including specialists in toxicology, internal medicine/cardiology, and pathology, in order to finalize the report for each dog.

“Despite this investigation, a definitive cause of death is not identified, and we cannot rule out the occurrence of a fatal cardiac arrhythmia in one or more of the dogs. While a pre-race ECG was unremarkable and typical for an elite endurance-trained sled dog, cardiac arrhythmias may be intermittent and may only occur during exercise. Cardiac arrhythmias may occur in the absence of significant microscopic lesions. Ultimately, the cause of a presumed arrhythmia is unknown and presumed idiopathic at this time. There are no known preventative measures that could have been taken,” stated Iditarod Veterinarian Dr Erika Friedrich.

Like all Iditarod dogs, these athletes received exceptional care and were highly trained with months of conditioning on various terrains. In the weeks leading up to the Iditarod, the dogs received thorough physical examinations, including blood tests and EKGs, to identify any medical issues. These tests indicated no medical abnormalities for Bog, George or Henry.

The ITC extends their heartfelt condolences to the mushers and mushing community who cared deeply for these dogs. The ITC will continue to provide world-class healthcare to all Iditarod dogs, as well as health care, checkups and vaccinations to dogs in the communities and villages along the Iditarod Trail.