We are aware that Allen has left a dog in Finger Lake. Please be patient as we figure out who and why – it can take quite some time for us to know what dog it is and why they have been left because we are not at the checkpoints to see them.
There are a number of reasons why a dog can be returned: they might have pulled up sore due to stepping in a hole or over-exerting in the deep snow, they might have picked up an illness along the trail – much like we would when we travel with hundreds of strangers – or they might not be eating or resting well.
When a dog is left at a checkpoint they are well taken care of; they receive any necessary veterinarian treatment then hang out with the vet team and volunteers until they can be transported back to Anchorage (or fowards to Nome towards the end of the race), by airplane. There is a small army of dropped dog volunteers at race HQ to take care of the dogs until the handler crew can pick them up.
Kennel Mom, Mickey, has written a few fantastic posts about returned dogs in previous years and you can read them here, here and here.
As soon as we see one of our mushers has returned a dog we make contact with the dropped dog coordinator at Iditarod HQ who keeps us informed of where the dog is and when we can expect them back in Anchorage. After we have contacted the dog’s sponsor we will let you all know. Until then we do not like to even speculate so please have some patience with us as we figure it out.
Thanks!
It’s always good to read about how dropped dogs are cared for. I’m sure they get SO much love and pats along the way! Oh, to be a dropped dog volunteer! They have the best job!