Thanks to Dr Dawn Brown, Vet Assistant Mara Renneberg and the whole team at North Pole Veterinary Hospital for doing our pre-Iditarod vet checks yesterday! 40 dogs in and out of the surgery could have been quite a disruption to normal service so we really appreciate how smoothly and seamlessly it all went.
Kodiak charms Dr Brown; Schmoe has range of motion tested
Each dog that starts the Iditarod will have passed through a rigorous testing regime to ensure they are fit to be there.
Yesterday’s check was a thorough physical exam testing general attitude, vitals such as temperature and weight, listening to their heart and breathing plus for any musculo-skeletal including range of motion and any rubs or bumps. Vaccinations and worming status is checked to ensure everyone is fully covered. See right for the full list.
The results from yesterday are combined with the ECG and blood testing from late last week to give the Iditarod vet team a complete picture of every dog.
We took all our potential starters, including our “back-ups” to ensure that, come Monday, we have a big enough pool to choose from and we can get the healthiest, fittest teams out on the trail.
Ginger has range of motion tested; Violet patiently waits her turn with Aliy
Ginger plays “sled dog statue” for her heart check; Junior getting some love
Cayenne has her check while channelling her inner show-dog; good boy Kodiak
This is all so exciting! Nice to see Violet waiting with Aliy-how
sweet. Fit as a fiddle and ready to go!! Thanks for the update.
Thank you, thank you! The whole world is watching!
Do you feel that Iditarod Vet Checks are more stringent than those for the Yukon Quest? Do you think this reduces the likelihood of health issues on the trail as a result?
WOOF WOOF WOOF!!!
Ready to rock and roll!!!
Got those red and black outfits out including rally cap accessory and…
Doing a weather dance, making up Haiku:
And more snow comes down
Our paws secure in booties
Driving hard always.
Can't wait to see which dogs make the red and black teams. Such a great pool of canines – it has to be really tough to make the final decisions. They are all good dawgs!
Leave your porch light on until everyone from SP Kennel is safely beneath the burled arch.
Healthy happy huskies!! 40 to choose from….SPK is blessed with talent!!
I love how Cayenne looks….wow…she is gorgeous!!
Let the count down begin!! Race day is almost here!
Getting excited!
Thanks to vets doing final checks before running 1000 miles. Great shots of Cayenne, Ginger, Violet, Junior & Kodiak. Aliy looks like you are catching a few winks. Thanks for post.