ALERT: Who's supporting Iditarod dog torture in 2007? - WRITE

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From the Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

 

Please help the Iditarod dogs by sending protest emails to race supporters. These dogs are helpless victims of profoundly inhumane treatment and cannot speak for themselves. What happens to them during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, ruptured discs, viral diseases and pneumonia.

 

For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Throughout this eight to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage mushers to race diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

 

Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins. Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in pre-race veterinary checks.

 

Please speak for the dogs by sending Iditarod supporters protest emails. The 2007 Iditarod sponsors, musher sponsors, race promoters and business members are listed below. Emails are first given in a group and then individually under the sample letter. Email addresses with semi-colons and commas in group form can be found on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm at the bottom of the page.

 

ALL EMAIL ADDRESSES FOR IDITAROD SUPPORTERS - for easy sending, copy and paste as a bunch into your "Blind Copy" box. You may want to divide the block in half and email each group separately:

 

jeff.immelt, dan.janki, Jacques.espinasse, maurie_perl, John_Bellando, kklose, investor_relations, editor, tom.horton, Christopher.Gay, rod.ross, ken.hanna, csab.media, alan.w.bieler, ir, DanielJ.Sescleifer, conso, info, contact.nl, contact.us, gpruitt, ircontact, jlowber, roger_millay, james.moses, tmattia, corpcsf, newsroom, Shareholders.IM, Mayor, mayor, yum.investor,  karen.raskopf, tom.tiller, mhrmarketing, ir.dcx,  manager, programming, stevecurwood, dkravis, jvenh, gpn, teachersource, investor.relations, kroger.investors, gdonnelly, gtedesco, info, vanmarterch, toronto, investor.relations, fhees, orders, media, news, skruse, abuckelew, _masio, communications, pubaffmr,  enterprise.comments, info, employment, ssolomon, public.relations, investor_relations, info, Investor.Relations, tony, press, ir-newyork, tjacobs, hr1, contact.privacy, customersupport, cparrott, ann.simanis, Chancellor, info, info, info, contact, info, innkeeper, rivercabins, HolyDogRanch, information, fishing, qiviut, sales, traxak, gkatsion, pat, pilot01, spikealaska, info, info, adventure, chan, tma, allouiz, info, ryoung, sales, jbilitz, rodney.bolls, trambars, info, trophyglove, brewpub, gsipe, info, info, mkrajews, sales, tchozes, bellevillenews, admin, hid, info, sales, innkeeper, hughesseafood, ruby, info, Macgellan, wiggys, info, info, terry, reservations, info, info, sales, post, info, post, post, anni, info, info, spikealaska, alaskansplendor, fish, mlitzen, info, info, wildart, info, t-wolf, info, POlson, mcarr, lechleiter_john_c, bsgro, jschrank, mmow, greg.creed

 

SAMPLE LETTER:

 

Dear Iditarod Supporter:

 

I protest your organization's support of the Iditarod dog sled race. For the dogs, this barbaric event is a bottomless pit of suffering. What happens to them during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, ruptured discs, viral diseases and pneumonia. Please end your involvement in this cruel race.

 

In the Iditarod, dogs are forced to run 1,150 miles, which is the approximate distance between Miami, Florida and New York City. USA Today sports columnist Jon Saraceno called the Iditarod "a travesty of grueling proportions" and "Ihurtadog." Fox sportscaster Jim Rome called it "I-killed-a-dog." Orlando Sentinel sports columnist George Diaz said the race is "a barbaric ritual" and "an illegal sweatshop for dogs."

 

Please visit the Sled Dog Action Coalition website http://www.helpsleddogs.org and be sure to read the quotes on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/remarks.htm . All the material on the site is true and verifiable.

 

Throughout this eight to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage mushers to race diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

 

Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins. Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in pre-race veterinary checks.

 

At least 130 dogs have died in the Iditarod. No one knows how many dogs die after this tortuous ordeal or during training.

 

On average, 52 percent of the dogs who start the race do not make it across the finish line. According to a report published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, of those who do cross, 81 percent have lung damage. A report published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine said that 61 percent of the dogs who finish the Iditarod have ulcers versus zero percent pre-race.

 

Tom Classen, retired Air Force colonel and Alaskan resident for over 40 years, tells us that the dogs are beaten into submission:

 

"They've had the hell beaten out of them.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." -USA Today, March 3, 2000 in Jon Saraceno's column.

 

Mushers believe in "culling" or killing unwanted dogs, including puppies. Many dogs who are permanently disabled in the Iditarod, or who are unwanted for any reason, including those who have outlived their usefulness, are killed with a shot to the head, dragged or clubbed to death. "Dogs are clubbed with baseball bats and if they don't pull are dragged to death in harnesses....." wrote Alaskan Mike Cranford in an article for Alaska's Bush Blade Newspaper (March, 2000).

 

Jon Saraceno wrote in his March 3, 2000 column in USA Today, "He [Colonel Tom Classen] confirmed dog beatings and far worse. Like starving dogs to maintain their most advantageous racing weight. Skinning them to make mittens. Or dragging them to their death."

 

Please end your organization's association with this horrific race.

 

Sincerely,

 

IDITAROD SPONSORS:

 

Cabelas

Email: Christopher.Gay

 

Daimler Chrysler

Email: ir.dcx

 

Coca-Cola

Email: tmattia

 

Millennium & Copthorne Hotels

Email: mhrmarketing

 

Wells Fargo & Company

Email: corpcsf

 

Kroger Company (Fred Meyer Stores)

Email: kroger.investors

 

Spenard Builders (Lanoga Corporation)

Email: ssolomon

 

Chevron Corportation

Email: pubaffmr

 

Exxon Mobil Corporation

Email: enterprise.comments

 

Anchorage Daily News (Mc Clatchy Company)

Email: gpruitt

 

Providence Health System

Email: employment

 

Alaska Airlines (Alaska Air Group)

Email: newsroom

 

Peninsula Airways, Inc. (Pen Air)

Email: info

 

Alaska Brewing Company

Email: fhees

 

The City of Anchorage

Email: Mayor

 

The City of Nome

Email: manager

 

5th Avenue Mall (Simon Property Group)

Email: ircontact

 

Horizon Lines

Email: investor.relations

 

City of Wasilla

Email: mayor

 

Network Appliance, Inc.

Email: investor_relations

 

General Communication, Inc. (GCI)

Email: jlowber

 

IDITAROD PROMOTERS:

 

NBC Universal (GE -General Electric Company owns 80%)

Email: jeff.immelt, dan.janki

 

NBC Universal (Vivendi - owns 20%)

Email: Jacques.espinasse

 

Glamour Magazine (Conde Nast Publications - Advance Publications)

Email: maurie_perl, John_Bellando

 

NPR (National Public Radio)

Email kklose

 

Houghton Mifflin Company

Email: investor_relations

 

American Way Magazine -American Airlines (AMR Corporaton)

Email: editor, tom.horton

 

Travel Channel (Discover Communications, Inc.)

Email: roger_millay

 

Elderhostel 

Email: ann.simanis

 

Living on Earth

Email: stevecurwood

 

Lilly Oncology (Eli Lilly and Company)

Email: vanmarterch 

 

PBS Nature

Email: programming

 

PBS Reading Rainbow

Email: gpn

 

PBS TeacherSource

Email: teachersource

 

Cruise West

Email: media

 

Playroom Entertainment, Inc.

Email: tony

 

Riverboat Discovery

Email: orders

 

Women's Sports Foundation

Email: info

 

TIME for Kids

Email: _masio

 

Holland America Line (Carnival Corporation)

Email: skruse, abuckelew

 

Scholastic Corporation

Email: news

 

Workman Publishing Company

Email: info

 

Girl Scouts of the USA

Email: communications

 

Morton Arboretum

Email: gdonnelly, gtedesco

 

STIHL (STIHL Group)

Email: public.relations, stefan.caspari

 

Hawaiian Vacations

Email: guestservices

 

University of Alaska Anchorage

Email: Chancellor

 

Fodors (Random House)

Email: POlson

 

Carolina Day School

Email: bsgro

 

Christ Lutheran School

Email: jschrank

 

North Side Middle School

Email: mmow

 

IDITAROD BUSINESS PARTNERS:

 

Alaska Timberwolf Journeys & Tours

Email: t-wolf

 

Grand View Inn & Suites

Email: info

 

Alaska Kayak Academy

Email: info

 

Alaska Native Arts Foundation

Email: info

 

Alaska Vacation Store

Email: info

 

Alaska Discovery RV Tours

Email: spikealaska

 

Alaska Splendor Limousines

Email: alaskansplendor

 

Fishtale River Guides

Email: fish

 

Litzen Guide Service

Email: mlitzen

 

Outer Limits Alaska

Email: info

 

Talkeetna Air Taxi

Email: info

 

David Totten's Online Gallery

Email: wildart

 

MUSHER SPONSORS:

 

Marsh (Marsh & McLennan Companies)

Email: alfred.j.modugno, alan.w.bieler

 

Nutro Products, Inc.

Email: dkravis, mcarr

 

7-UP (Cadbury Schweppes plc)

Email: ken.hanna, csab.media

 

Equitable Life & Casualty Insurance Company

Email: rod.ross

 

HANES (Hanesbrands, Inc.)

Email: ir

 

Energizer Batteries

Email: DanielJ.Sescleifer

 

Royal Canin (Mars/Masterfoods owns 56 percent of the company)

Email: conso, info, contact.nl, contact.us

 

The Dish Network

Email: press

 

Jiffy Lube International, Inc. (Shell Oil Company)

Email: ir-newyork

 

CELLULARONE (Dobson Communications Corp.)

Email: tjacobs

 

Eukanuba/Iams (Procter & Gamble Company)

Email: Shareholders.IM

 

Blockbuster Video

Email: karen.raskopf

 

McDonalds Restaurants (McDonald Corporation)

Email: contact.privacy

 

Taco Bell (Yum! Brands, Inc.)

Email: greg.creed, yum.investor

 

Ace Hardware

Email: jvenh

 

Amerigas (UGI Corporation)

Email: hr1

 

Polaris Industries Inc.

Email: tom.tiller

 

Sportsman's Warehouse

Email: cparrott

 

Batteries Plus

Email: customersupport

 

Great Alaskan Bush Company

Email: info

 

Frontier Flying Service, Inc.

Email: info

 

Trapper's Creek Smoking Company

Email: info

 

Meier's Lake Roadhouse

Email: contact

 

Talkeetna Alaskan Lodge

Email: info

 

Alaska Frontier Gardens Bed & Breakfast

Email: innkeeper

 

Kantishna Wilderness Trails

Email: rivercabins

 

Holy Dog Ranch

Email: HolyDogRanch

 

Maclaren River Lodge

Email: information

 

Gotta Fish Charters

Email: fishing

 

Oomingmak

Email: qiviut

 

Kaladi Brothers Coffee Company

Email: sales

 

Tracks of Alaska Photography

Email: traxak

 

Clam Gulch Lodge

Email: gkatsion

 

North Slope Restaurant and Saloon

Email:pat

 

Wright Air Service

Email: pilot01

 

Alaskan Discovery RV Tours, Ltd.

Email: spikealaska

 

Inlet Tower Hotel & Suites

Email: info

 

Homer Stage Line

Email: hsl

 

Pasty Factory

Email: allouiz

 

Alaska Icefield Expeditions

Email: info

 

Raspberry Island Remote Camps

Email:adventure

 

University of Minnesota, Duluth, MN

Email: chan

 

Tweed Museum of Art

Email: tma

 

Intervet (Akzo Nobel)

Email: investor.relations

 

Barker-Ewing River Trips

Email: info

 

Colorado Altitude Training

Email: ryoung

 

REDCOM Laboratories, Inc.

Email: sales

 

J. J. Keller & Associates, Inc.

Email: jbilitz

 

bGlobal, Inc.

Email: rodney.bolls

 

Gartner Lee, Ltd.

Email: toronto

 

Tram Bars

Email: trambars

 

Princeton Tec

Email: info

 

Trophy Glove Company

Email: trophyglove

 

Snake River Brewing

Email: brewpub

 

Trixsyn (Cogent Solutions Group LLC.)

Email: gsipe

 

The Outfitter

Email: info

 

ND Industries

Email: info

 

Ursa wagons

Email: sales

 

Great Lakes GeoScience

Email: tchozes

 

Belleville Recorder

Email: bellevillenews

 

World Tang Soo Do Association

Email: admin

 

AE Light (Allsman Enterprises, LLC)

Email: hid

 

Western Products

Email: info

 

PJ Operating Corp.

Email: sales

 

Folkestone Inn Bed & Breakfast Innkeepers

Email: innkeeper

 

Hughes Seafood Company, Inc.

Email: hughesseafood

 

Arco Coffee (Andresen-Ryan Coffee Co.)

Email: ruby

 

Empire Canvas Works

Email: info

 

Macgellan.com

Email: Macgellan

 

Wiggy's, Inc.

Email: wiggys

 

Jupiter Solutions

Email: info

 

Colorado Cross Roads Bed & Breakfast

Email: info

 

United Railroad Materials

Email: terry

 

Krabloonik Kennels

Email: reservations

 

Teamdiel

Email: info

 

Globetrotter.de

Email: info

 

Immunocorp

Email: sales

 

Via Scandinavia

Email: post

 

Kamik

Email: info

 

Bynje

Email: post

 

Noraid

Email: post

 

Vi sees

Email: anni

 

Deland Middle School

Email: mkrajews