A 'feel-good' story in 2013 goes something like this;
May, a veteran sled dog gained world wide attention as 'The Lost Iditarod Dog.' May, a red colored mixed- breed Husky, got loose from her team...that of musher Newton Marshall during the running of the 41st Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is an annual long distance sled dog race that starts the first Saturday of March, and has run each year since 1973. The trail runs from Willow, Alaska up the Rainy Pass of the Alaska Range into the sparse interior, along the cost of the Bering sea and finishes in Nome.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
More than 50 mushers from around the globe competed this year. Each began with a team of 16 dogs and must complete the race with at least 6 dogs on the towline. This distance is covered in a span of 9 - 15 days or more as these teams often compete in blizzard conditions, sub-zero temperatures and gale force winds.
Some say that the Iditarod began as a tribute to the Great Race of Mercy - the most famous event in Alaskan sled dog history. An epidemic of Diphtheria threatened Nome in 1925, especially the Alaskan children who were not immune to this "white man's disease." The nearest antitoxin was found to be in Anchorage. A train brought the serum to Nenana where the first of 20 mushers and 100 dogs ran in relays to Nome. The serum was successfully delivered.
The Iditirod currently has 26 checkpoints along the northern route and 27 on the southern route - mushers must sign in.Three mandatory rest stops along the way, provide much needed provisions for man and dogs. Veterinarians at these spots check each dog for health before a team is allowed to continue.
Find out what's happening in Brookfieldfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
May was lost for 7 days. A snowmachiner, 22 year old Kaitlin Koch, saw May as she trotted along in the wilderness...skinny with bloody paws. "She came right up to me." said Koch. "She sat in my lap the entire trip back to Big lake." May is recovering nicely.
[Sources; ABC NEWS/ DAILY NEWS/ WIKIPEDIA/ ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS]
