Junior Iditarod dog dies in race

WILLOW — A medical examination has revealed gastric ulcers caused a dog to die shortly before Sunday’s finish of the Junior Iditarod Sled Dog Race.

Jeff Holt, a 17-year-old from North Pole who was running the 150-mile race for the fourth time, left Yentna Station heading for Willow with his team of eight dogs, Race Director Michelle Pearson said. A short distance before the Susitna River crossing, Holt stopped to snack his dogs.

“That dog went down and didn’t come back up,” Pearson said.

She said Holt tried to resuscitate the dog then brought it to a support station at the river crossing. Race officials radioed ahead, and Holt brought the dog to the first road crossing, where it was picked up.

Holt finished the race five hours later.

Pearson said this is the first dog to have died in the race during her seven-year tenure as director. She said she believes a dog died in the 1980s, but was not sure of the exact year or cause of death.

Similar to the Junior Iditarod’s parent race, each dog goes through a pre-race medical exam, Pearson said. According to race rules, the dogs must be tested within 14 days prior to the race and seizures, fainting or pregnancy will disqualify the dogs. Additionally, the dogs can be tested for drugs at any time before, during or after the race.

“We do a vet check. There are vets along the trail. It’s just an unfortunate incident and made a lot harder because it is young people,” Pearson said.

Wasilla Veterinary Clinic partner Phil Meyer was the veterinarian who did a necropsy on the dog. Gastric ulcers cannot be called the official cause of death, he said, “but that’s what it looked like to me.”

He confirmed each dog is physically inspected before the race, but there are not any blood or lab tests done across the field, he said. Even if there had been blood or lab work done, “short of anesthetizing the dog and looking in its stomach with an endoscope, I don’t think you would have found it,” Meyer said.

Meyer said ulcers are not an uncommon problem for sled dogs and there is research underway looking at prevention and treatment. But, he said, to say mushing caused the ulcers may be premature.

“There are people that might be able to answer that,” Meyer said. “But I don’t think you can clearly define the cause on that.”

Contact Todd L. Disher at todd.disher@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.