Iditarod dogs beaten into submission

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On your mark, set . . . let the cruelty begin

 

Commentary by Jon Saraceno

 

March 3, 2000

 

Tom Classen has lived outside the " lower 48 " for more than 40 years. The

retired 81-year-old Air Force colonel has long enjoyed the inspiring beauty

of his state, where themes of outdoor adventure and rugged individualism

dominate.

 

This is the weekend he dreads.

 

This is the time of year when he hangs his head in shame at the ugliness of

some of his fellow Alaskans. Classen suffers, but not in silence. " God, " he

pleads, " we've got to stop this damn killing. "

 

He is angry. I felt the same way last summer when, vacationing in Alaska, I

was forced to listen to Susan Butcher's propaganda about the Iditarod. The

champion musher trotted out her puppies in a well-rehearsed pretense

designed to whitewash the bloodshed of what I call the " Ihurtadog. "

 

It is the most immoral, reprehensible " sporting event " in the USA.

Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia have anti-cruelty laws that

would make the Iditarod illegal because of overworking an animal, according

to helpsleddogs.org, a Web site devoted to helping our defenseless friends.

Unfortunately, institutionalized animal abuse is as common in Alaska as

wandering moose.

 

There, a sled dog is not an animal to be respected. It is to be owned, or

leased, like a car. When the dog has too many miles on it, take a guess what

happens. Any human being with a smidgen of decency should have nothing to do

with the Iditarod. It should be outlawed. Entrenched Alaskan politicians,

particularly those in Congress, don't have the guts.

 

They are not alone. Commerce rules, not common sense. The Iditarod benefits

no one but a drooling pack of unconscionable profiteers. From race

organizers to those involved in tourism -- even the newspapers from

Anchorage to Fairbanks who fawn over the Iditarod as they line their pockets

with advertising revenue. For 1,151 miles, sled dogs will pull their

glory-seeking, money-grubbing masters through the Alaska wilderness. Even

venerable PBS got suckered into glorifying the race last year.

 

You want to talk killing fields? In the last three years, nine dogs have

perished during this mad marathon of canine misery. No one has any idea how

many are destroyed in the weeks after the race because of debilitating

injury that renders them useless as " athletes. " Unlike humans, they have no

choice.

 

Countless more experience pain and suffering in a never-ending cycle of

training that begins in " puppyhood " -- if, that is, they are permitted by

their tormentors to live and are not culled. During a recent race, a musher

was videotaped kicking and beating one of his dogs.

 

This abuse is common and there's a reason why many sled dogs cower when

approached, Classen says.

 

" They've had the hell beaten out of them, " he says. " You don't just whisper

into their ears, 'OK, stand there until I tell you to run like the devil.'

They understand one thing: a beating. These dogs are beaten into submission

the same way elephants are trained for a circus. The mushers will deny it.

And you know what? They are all lying. "

 

Five weeks ago, Classen contacted the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner to express

his outrage. " A civilized person, " he wrote, " is supposed to end cruelty,

not add to it. " He says the newspaper did not publish his note, which also

included a letter from a man who worked six years in one of the foremost

kennels in the mushing industry. He confirmed dog beatings and far worse.

Like starving dogs to maintain their optimum racing weight. Skinning them to

make mittens. Or dragging them to their death.

 

This weekend, Classen will sit next to his ailing 12-year-old golden

retriever and try to comfort her, even as others are in distress. " I'll read

the papers to see how many dogs died, " he says. " I hope all the mushers

break their necks. "

 

Jon Saraceno's columns appear on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Saraceno

joined USA TODAY in 1984, covering such beats as boxing, the NFL and auto

racing. He also worked for FLORIDA TODAY and the Danville (Ill.)

Commercial-News. Saraceno, 41, has a bachelor's degree in journalism from

Penn State.

 

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