We got this question in the comments:
“What happens between when a dog gets injured and when the dog gets dropped at a checkpoint? Does the musher continue running the dog (I see enough active, happy-looking three-legged dogs to get that it’s possible)? Or does the dog ride? Is sled riding part of what the dogs are trained to do?
I wanted to give you a good, full response, but it would take me more time than I’ve got to write it up. So, I went outside and found our good friend Dr. Mike Davis — who is a race vet here in Paxson — and asked him to talk about it. Thanks Doc Mike!
You ROCK!! I should be sleeping, seeing as how I have to get up in 5 1/2 hours! I have been busily down loading all of these videos to show at school tomorrow though!!
Thanks so much!
Oh, cool. Thanks for answering this.
I was wondering if you could put the times in perspective:
When you look at times, for a world class runner or swimmer a few seconds is huge…but what about this kind of race? King has been only off by seconds until Meier's Lake, where he then was ahead by about 40 seconds (which sounds like an eternity). Are King and Allen basically neck-and-neck?
As a musher, how much ahead would you need to be before you felt comfortable (ex. 5 minutes, 15 minutes, etc.)?
Again, thanks for all the coverage you are doing. You are doing an excellent job.
dustyllr: Sorry about your lost sleep… Not really!… I think it should be mandatory for fans to have to sleep as little as all of us on the Teams do, don't you think? 😉
KB: Bottom line… Jeff and Allen are neck and neck… if Jeff keeps up his fast pace, he may be unstoppable… BUT you have to factor in 1) he had just come off his 8 hours when he did that fast time 2) Allen has just done his 8 hours 3) Allen is a demon in the mountains and NEVER stops kicking and poling… Jeff cannot be as active on the back of his sled because of the "seat" set-up he uses… So… I think it is very, very close and the next few hours will be crucial… As for the last part of your question, a musher is NEVER NEVER NEVER "comfortable" with a lead… There are just too many things that can go wrong… a crashed sled, a loose dog, a missed turn…. They are NEVER far enough ahead….
Thanks, Mac.
Love that "Chase Away K9 Cancer" patch on Dr. Mike's coat 🙂 Great explaination of "dropped" dogs
wonderfulllllllll!!!!!!!! I love Mike Davis…….and thanks Mike for picking up all the fish oil for me…