Vets check dogs’ health one last time before hitting the trail

WASILLA — In the era of tainted athletes and tarnished legacies, it’s Stuart Nelson’s job to make sure the Iditarod remains the last great race.

Under his watchful eye, the dogs got a good going over Wednesday at the vet check in the Iditarod headquarters’ parking lot.

The volunteer veterinarians came from around the country to lend a gentle hand. Mike Yacapraro has been coming from Wooster, Ohio for the past three years.

“I like to see the dogs, like to see the friends and like to see the people on the trail,” said Yacapraro. “It gives me a good break from my practice.”

“They’re looking for general health,” said musher Rick Larson from Sand Coulee, Mont., running in his fourth Iditarod. “They look at the joints, the heart and take their temperature.”

In his fifth year from Arizona, veterinarian Mike Walker looks for anything that might hinder the dogs from running the race.

“They have to look healthy and ready to run 1,000 miles,” he said. “Dogs are pulled once or twice a year and it’s usually from a training accident. But the ones here are generally pretty healthy and ready to go.”

“I’ve never been worried about a dog not passing,” said Larson. “If I don’t know about it, the vets won’t know about it.”

As the head veterinarian for this year’s Iditarod, the responsibility for the dogs’ health rests on Nelson’s shoulders. He served as a trail vet for nine years, and this is his 14th as the head vet.

Nelson administers the program all the dogs must go through. Throughout the month of February, the dogs get EKGs to check their hearts and a full range of blood tests to make sure there are no hidden problems.

“There are usually a couple that flunk their EKGs, and a couple don’t pass the blood work. All of this is good to find before they get on the trail,” he said.

Wednesday was the physical exam that the Iditarod offers as a free service to mushers who do not have their local vets do the physicals.

Once on the trail, there are vets at every checkpoint to ensure the safety of the dogs. Additionally, Walker said, there are random drug tests along the way, especially for the teams in the top 10.

According to Nelson, it is very rare to find performance enhancing drugs. He said the tests are largely preventative because the racers know each dog could be tested.

This is good news to Yacapraro. It’s evident that he continues to volunteer because of the Iditarod’s purity.

“It’s all about the puppies,” he said. “They are so well-behaved and so well-trained.

“You bet the dogs like to race. If a dog is not running or jumping in his harness ready to go, something’s wrong. Dogs have three genes: one to run, one to be happy and one to eat.”