{"id":756719,"date":"2019-04-05T09:02:51","date_gmt":"2019-04-05T13:02:51","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=756719"},"modified":"2019-04-05T09:03:45","modified_gmt":"2019-04-05T13:03:45","slug":"expose-pain-desolation-abuse-and-systemic-neglect-at-former-iditarod-champions-kennels","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/animalrightswatch.us\/?p=756719","title":{"rendered":"Expos\u00e9: Pain, Desolation, Abuse, and Systemic Neglect at Former Iditarod Champions’ Kennels"},"content":{"rendered":"\t
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There are thousands of dogs suffering in Alaska who deserve far better than a lifetime of isolation, cruelty, and death on the Iditarod Trail. Tell Chrysler, Millennium Hotels, and Alaska Airlines to stop sponsoring the Iditarod immediately.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/blockquote>\n\n

PETA:<\/strong> ‘At a kennel operated by former Iditarod champion John Baker and by Katherine Keith, who had two dogs perish during past Iditarod races, PETA\u2019s eyewitness found dozens of frantic dogs, some of whom Keith was training for the 2019 Iditarod (before she pulled out of the race). Baker has competed in the Iditarod 22 times since 1996, winning nearly $603,000. The dogs\u2019 only respite from a wind chill as low as minus 19 degrees (-28C) was dilapidated, uninsulated boxes, some of which had even collapsed, containing very little, if any, straw for bedding. Dogs were routinely fed a \u201cstew\u201d of rotten and\/or moldy meat. They were denied water during training, even when running for over 50 miles, and only ever had access to water in the form of the daily \u201cstew,\u201d which at times was so foul that they couldn\u2019t eat it. Many dogs\u2019 ribs and hips could easily be seen\u2014even beneath their thick fur…<\/em><\/p>\n

Snickers was one of Baker\u2019s lead dogs in 2011, when he won the Iditarod. But when she was 11 years old, PETA\u2019s eyewitness found her limping and suffering from chronic, painful arthritis. Rather than providing his elderly lead dog with the veterinary care and comfort that she desperately needed, he chained her beside the frozen sea\u2014all alone and unable to escape the Arctic cold. She had no shelter at all until PETA\u2019s eyewitness built one for her, as the wooden box next to her area was only accessible from an adjacent pen. Baker said that Snickers had suffered from arthritis even when she ran the Iditarod. He admitted that she was \u201cin a lot of pain\u201d and had been for years and that he needed to \u201cput her out of her misery.\u201d He stated that he planned to shoot her but had not yet done it because \u201cI just don\u2019t have a good place to bury her”…<\/em><\/p>\n

At three-time Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey\u2018s kennel, PETA\u2019s eyewitness found scores of dogs continuously chained to barrels. Some had run in circles for so long that their paw pads were worn down or raw. Dogs were forced to run day after day, even when their paws or nails were bleeding. Some workers hit them in the face to make them line up in front of the sleds. One worker harnessed dogs next to each other who she knew had fought and said she would \u201ckick them in the balls\u201d if they fought again. After one training run, she boasted, \u201cI just kicked [a dog] in his anus”… Seavey raced Pilot, an aging Iditarod champion whom the kennel calls \u201cthe dog that makes Mitch [Seavey] great,\u201d in the 2019 Iditarod, even though a worker admitted the dog had \u201ca lot of problems\u201d and \u201ctears himself apart\u201d while racing. Another dog, Zephyr, had pus-filled wounds on his back legs as a result of being repeatedly hit by a metal bar as he ran, and a worker tore the scabs off them causing him to yelp in pain…<\/em><\/p>\n

There are thousands of dogs just like Snickers, Birch, and Captain suffering in Alaska\u2014all for the sake of mushers\u2019 greedy pursuit of cash and \u201cglory.\u201d Dogs deserve far better than a lifetime of isolation, cruelty, suffering, and death on the Iditarod Trail. Please never take a dog-sled ride. If you are planning a trip or cruise to Alaska, don\u2019t buy any packages or excursions that include dog-sled rides or visits to dog kennels. Please also urge Chrysler, Millennium Hotels and Resorts, and Alaska Airlines to sever ties with the Iditarod immediately. Ask them if they really want their brand names to be associated with the cruelty in this industry. Demand that they immediately drop their endorsement of the cruel Iditarod and help spare these animals even one more day of agony’.<\/em> SOURCE…<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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