DawnWatch: Terrific anti Iditarod column in USA Today

March 17, 2004

- Julia Sharp

FW: DawnWatch: Terrific anti Iditarod column in USA TodayTue, 16 Mar 2004 15:32:16 +0100The national paper, USA Today, has a terrific anti Iditarod column in the Monday, March 15 edition. It is headed, "Iditarod disgrace: As death toll of dogs rises, so does the race's purse." (Sports, pg 7C.)Columnist Jon Saraceno opens:"I'm all for mutiny. Dog mutiny, that is"."When it comes to the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race, how do we get more of our furry friends to lie down on the job? If they belonged to a union, there would be a strike every March when the 1,100-mile marathon of dog miseryis propelled by more than 1,000 members through the treacherous Alaskan wilderness."In that labor dispute, I would be all for the stressed-to-the-max dogs. They are overworked and underpaid. The money and the glory go to management -- in this case, mushers and their sponsors."Why does Alaska permit the 'Ihurtadog?'"Easy.

Commerce -- shameless, bloody business carried out on the backs of man's best friends."He goes on to detail various dog deaths, and notes that many die after the race so their deaths are not recorded as Iditarod deaths and many "continue to trudge on with various injuries."He writes about all the money people make off the race, then ends the column;"The dogs, of course, get their usual take. More suffering."You can read the whole piece on line at:http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/saraceno/2004-03-14-saraceno_x.htmAnd you can send a thank you to Jon Saraceno at

jons @ usatoday.com (remove 2 spaces)Better yet, send one to the paper -- a letter to the editor questioning the Iditarod and all human abuse of members of other species for our entertainment. USA Today takes letters at: editor @ usatoday.com (remove 2 spaces)(I send a big thank you to Chas Chiodo who made sure we saw this column.)Always include your full name, address, and daytime phone number when sending a letter to the editor. Shorter letters are more likely to be published.Yours and the animals',Karen Dawnwww.DawnWatch.com (DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets.You can learn more about it at www.DawnWatch.com. To to DawnWatch,email KarenDawn and tell me you'd like to receive alerts. If at any time you find DawnWatch is not for you, just let me know via email and I'll take you off the r list immediately. If you forward orreprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited, leaving DawnWatch in the title and including this tag line.)

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