Iditarod Restart

(Click photos to enlarge) 


The official restart was Sunday, March 7 on Willow Lake.

I handled for rookie Hank DeBruin and his beautiful team of Huskies from Haliburton, Ontario.

I hugged them all for Khyra!

And, yes, I did fall-TWICE!!!

It's hard to keep a Southern girl down.

Both times I was able to catch up with the team and I made it to the starting chute. Standing under the Iditarod start banner was a thrill!

I wished all the dogs and Hank a safe, healthy, and happy trip to Nome.

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I had several comments regarding dropped dogs yesterday. Long-distance sled dog races, such as the Iditarod, require mushers to finish with only those dogs who started the race. Although none may be added to the team after the start, they can be dropped at any checkpoint and for any reason. A maximum of sixteen dogs may start in an Iditarod team, and at least five are required to be in harness to officially finish. Reasons for dropping dogs are numerous. Attitude problems, fatigue, illness, immaturity, injury, being “in heat,” lack of speed and musher strategy, are the more common ones.
Dropped dog care and management is highly organized to provide for the safe return of the dogs to Anchorage.
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Happy Trails,