Other Stories From The Trail
Jon Little at the “official Iditarod blog” has a nice piece on the winner.
Sadly the Anchorage Daily News reports on a third dog dying:
A 4-year-old dog in the team of veteran Kotzebue musher Ed Iten died Tuesday between Elim and White Mountain, according to the Iditarod Trail Committee.
The dog named Cargo died about 5 p.m. It was the third animal to perish during this year’s race.
It is probably another case of aspiration pneumonia, the dog inhaling food particles while gulping down a meal. Large dogs tend to gulp rather than chew, not just huskies. We lost a beautiful German Shepherd puppy because she swallowed a bone she found. Paul Gebhardt spread the ashes of one of his lead dogs while on the trail. Governor, a 4-year-old lead dog had died four months ago from swallowing a rock. You can’t guard against their nature.
2 comments
I didn’t realize there was such a danger from aspiration pneumonia for large dogs. After reading what you wrote, I can understand how it can happen. I’ve watched big dogs eat.
Huskies and German Shepherds are really bad about “gulping” their food, it’s almost as if it takes all of their brain to remember to keep their ears erect.