http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/wheres-the-snow-alaskas-iditarod-has-to-move-north/

Much of the start of the world’s most famous sled dog race is covered in barren gravel, forcing Iditarod organizers to move the start further north where there is snow and ice.

A weather pattern that buried the eastern U.S. in snow has left Alaska fairly warm and relatively snow-free this winter, especially south of the Alaska Range.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race starts Saturday with a ceremonial run through Anchorage. But the official start two days later has been moved 225 miles north, over the Alaska Range, to Fairbanks to avoid the area that left many mushers bruised and bloodied last year. Iditarod officials said the conditions are worse this year.

****

But... Boston though...




█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." � Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

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I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...

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One Hundred.

They're sled dogs. They're bred to pull sleds. On the list of animal rights issues this is so goddamn far down the list I might actually care more about endangered moths than this, and this is coming from a die-hard dog enthusiast.

you do know they are beaten to run faster right?

per the ASPCA "Their feet are torn apart by ice and distance. Many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, or become sick with diarrhea, dehydration, intestinal viruses, or bleeding stomach ulcers"....

the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published an assessment showing that 61 percent of the sled dogs studied exhibited an increased frequency of gastric erosions or ulcers after completing the Iditarod; none of the dogs studied had exhibited these symptoms before the race. Another study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 2012 found that 81 percent of the dogs run in the Iditarod had “abnormal accumulations” of mucus or cellular debris in their lower airways. According to the report, this accumulation was classified as moderate to severe in nearly half of the dogs.

yay for them not dying?

go fight that fight for the moths. ill be ok here "die hard dog enthusiast".

-------------------
I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...

As a general rule I tend not to pull my talking points from people who think that cattle farming is the same thing as the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and the Holocaust, but maybe you think they're a more reasonable group of people.

You're painting a large group of dedicated dog lovers with one broad stroke just because they're making working dogs do work.

These aren't teacup poodles. They were bred to pull sleds. That's why they exist, and you can miss me with all that animal rights shit, because once again, pulling sleds is explicitly why these animals were brought into the world. Ask any sled dog trainer, the dogs like running in a pack in the snow, hauling a sled. They aren't doing something that is unnatural to their nature, and there are a lot of people who sled dog race for the love of the sport and the dog.


>you do know they are beaten to run faster right?

Uh you know the Iditarod suspended one of its most popular mushers for abusing his dogs right?

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2875493

Oh but wait, you probably did know that because it's on the PETA website, where they mischaracterize a 2 year suspension and 3 year probationary period as a "slap on the wrist". Great job giving people all the information PETA, you truly are a level headed organization.


I certainly agree that they should crack down harder when they uncover incidents, but you act like beating your dog is part of the official rule book. He got a longer suspension for striking a dog than Ray Rice did for striking a woman.



>per the ASPCA "Their feet are torn apart by ice and distance.
>Many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, or become sick
>with diarrhea, dehydration, intestinal viruses, or bleeding
>stomach ulcers"....

First of all, could you please give me a link to the ASCPCA's position on dog sled racing? I haven't found one in my searching, and that quote seems like it needs to be put into a larger context because from what I've seen the ASPCA hasn't actually condemned the race.

Especially since that first line seems to imply that these dogs are running in their bare paws, and not the booties every dog is required to wear to prevent cuts.


Edit: That quote isn't even from the ASPCA is it? It's from a PETA article.

>the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published an
>assessment showing that 61 percent of the sled dogs studied
>exhibited an increased frequency of gastric erosions or ulcers
>after completing the Iditarod; none of the dogs studied had
>exhibited these symptoms before the race. Another study
>published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical
>Care Medicine in 2012 found that 81 percent of the dogs run in
>the Iditarod had “abnormal accumulations” of mucus or
>cellular debris in their lower airways. According to the
>report, this accumulation was classified as moderate to severe
>in nearly half of the dogs.

Uh huh, and do you actually have these studies available for review? Do you know If the dogs recovered with time? Do you know how many of the dogs died from complications?

Or did you just pull that off of PETA's website and assume that I'd be shocked by some numbers even if they'd been filtered by an organization with a clear bias?

Given that PETA wasn't honest about the Ramy Brooks suspension, what makes you think I'm more inclined to give a fuck about those numbers without actually reading those journals for myself?

>yay for them not dying?

Yup. Yay for them not dying.

>go fight that fight for the moths. ill be ok here "die hard
>dog enthusiast".

Go throw some paint on a fur coat.

"All the world's a stage,
And all the men and women merely players:
They have their exits and their entrances;
And one man in his time plays many parts..." -The Bard

>As a general rule I tend not to pull my talking points from
>people who think that cattle farming is the same thing as the
>Trans-Atlantic Slave trade and the Holocaust, but maybe you
>think they're a more reasonable group of people.

they do go too far with shit like that and "holocaust for turkeys" etc agreed. but they raise valid points as well. unfortunately that goes unseen due to the BS they pull.

>You're painting a large group of dedicated dog lovers with one
>broad stroke just because they're making working dogs do
>work.
>
>These aren't teacup poodles. They were bred to pull sleds.
>That's why they exist,

yes, but not to race under inhumane conditions for 100+ miles for entertainment.

& im not even bringing up the culling/puppy mills that fuels this bullshit

>and you can miss me with all that
>animal rights shit, because once again, pulling sleds is
>explicitly why these animals were brought into the world. Ask
>any sled dog trainer, the dogs like running in a pack in the
>snow, hauling a sled.

lol, im sure they love the hypothermia, pneumonia and all the other shit that comes with it as well. they're dogs dude. they do what they're forced to do. they dont need to RACE 100+ miles for them to fulfill their genetic needs/behavior.a border collie doesnt NEED to herd sheep to live a fulfilling life.

im afraid to even ask what you think of greyhound racing.



>>you do know they are beaten to run faster right?
>
>Uh you know the Iditarod suspended one of its most popular
>mushers for abusing his dogs right?
>
>http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2875493

awesome.that makes it all ok.

>
>Oh but wait, you probably did know that because it's on the
>PETA website, where they mischaracterize a 2 year suspension
>and 3 year probationary period as a "slap on the wrist". Great
>job giving people all the information PETA, you truly are a
>level headed organization.


it certainly seems like a slap on the wrist to me.


>I certainly agree that they should crack down harder when they
>uncover incidents, but you act like beating your dog is part
>of the official rule book. He got a longer suspension for
>striking a dog than Ray Rice did for striking a woman.

that crackdown on mushing came down relatively recently. before then it was a free for all. and the fact that it was met with such disdain by people in the sport was telling.

and lol @ the NFL comparison. big deal.

youre allowed to do anything in the NFL. guys have killed people drunk driving and still collected checks.


>>per the ASPCA "Their feet are torn apart by ice and
>distance.
>>Many dogs pull muscles, incur stress fractures, or become
>sick
>>with diarrhea, dehydration, intestinal viruses, or bleeding
>>stomach ulcers"....


>First of all, could you please give me a link to the ASCPCA's
>position on dog sled racing? I haven't found one in my
>searching, and that quote seems like it needs to be put into a
>larger context because from what I've seen the ASPCA hasn't
>actually condemned the race.

Yea, let me go back and find the article.

>Especially since that first line seems to imply that these
>dogs are running in their bare paws, and not the booties every
>dog is required to wear to prevent cuts.

to prevent cuts. the cuts still occur. they are dogs. not robots.


>Edit: That quote isn't even from the ASPCA is it? It's from a
>PETA article


I have to go back and see where I copied from. It was in an article quoting a medical journal. Give me a minute.


>>the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published an
>>assessment showing that 61 percent of the sled dogs studied
>>exhibited an increased frequency of gastric erosions or
>ulcers
>>after completing the Iditarod; none of the dogs studied had
>>exhibited these symptoms before the race. Another study
>>published in the American Journal of Respiratory and
>Critical
>>Care Medicine in 2012 found that 81 percent of the dogs run
>in
>>the Iditarod had “abnormal accumulations” of mucus or
>>cellular debris in their lower airways. According to the
>>report, this accumulation was classified as moderate to
>severe
>>in nearly half of the dogs.



>Uh huh, and do you actually have these studies available for
>review? Do you know If the dogs recovered with time? Do you
>know how many of the dogs died from complications?

Yes, I do Dr.Lardlad, as an avid dog racing fan, i keep all those studies on file. just give me a second.

They were subject to inhumane conditions and suffered injuries they wouldn't have, had they not been forced to run for a hundred miles

>Or did you just pull that off of PETA's website and assume
>that I'd be shocked by some numbers even if they'd been
>filtered by an organization with a clear bias?

i pulled it off a google search at 440 am. let me go back and find it.

i dont know who u are/ur posting behavior enough to assume what you would or wouldnt think.

i just know youre strangely invested in this cruel, stupid ass "sport".



>Given that PETA wasn't honest about the Ramy Brooks
>suspension, what makes you think I'm more inclined to give a
>fuck about those numbers without actually reading those
>journals for myself?

please find those journals Dr.Lardlad, read them and let me know the statuses of said dogs. if PETA was dishonest about those findings, ill eat my tofu crow.


>
>Yup. Yay for them not dying.

Lol. Death not cool. injuries, cool. got it.

>
>>go fight that fight for the moths. ill be ok here "die hard
>>dog enthusiast".



>Go throw some paint on a fur coat.

im not that brolic about it. i did once see an old lady spill her starbucks on her fur coat & i laughed pretty hard while she looked like she wanted to cry.

-------------------
I wanna go to where the martyrs went
the brown figures on the walls of my apart-a-ment...

they had to go 225 miles north to find snow!!

█▆▇▅▇█▇▆▄▁▃
Big PEMFin H & z's
"I ain't no entertainer, and ain't trying to be one. I am 1 thing, a musician." � Miles

"When the music stops he falls back in the abyss."

.
*****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t5P6zdlPJ34&feature=related
^^^ever walked the streets of...

They are constantly suffering

The weather doesn't suck post

http://board.okayplayer.com/okp.php?az=show_topic&forum=4&topic_id=12741746&mesg_id=12741746&page=3#12742776

Alaska has apparently come up.