It’s been a big veterinary week here at SP Kennel. Besides the visit from Dr. Stu Nelson — chief Iditarod veterinarian — that you’ve seen in the past couple of posts, we’ve also had a lengthy visit from Dr. Michael Davis and his team from the Oklahoma State University Department of Physiological Sciences.
Dr. Davis has been working with Alaskan Husky Sled Dogs as part of ongoing research for the past decade, studying various aspects of their physiology to try to unlock some of the mysteries of their amazing performance and endurance. His research has broad ranging applications not only for canine medicine, but for human medicine as well.
“Dr. Mike” has made many visits to SP Kennel over the years and has become a good friend and colleague of Aliy and Allen. In this video, Mike introduces his current work and speaks at some length about the modality, intentions and ramifications of his current work.
For those of you who may get a bit queasy at the sight of needles and such, I will warn you that the video includes a little bit of “medical stuff.” Mostly, though, it shows the fabulous dogs of SP Kennel participating in important physiological research and describes the essential part they play in improving the health of their canine and human friends.
So interesting! Thanks for sharing so much of what goes on in a day in the life of a musher! The research on why they can run so far is fascinating. It’ll be interesting to see what the eventually come up with!