Is the iditarod dog sled race Animal cruelty?
Let’s tear apart your question so you can get the whole answer. Yes, there are a few cases where the dogs, sled, driver and all go into the water. No, the dogs will not suffer from exposure although the driver might. The driver is going to make sure the dogs are cared for before they themselves are (the dogs are the only way home). The dogs will crawl out, shake out what water they can and the driver will feed them with warm water and cooked food and literally cover them with blankets. You have to have a food/water dish, booties, blankets and food for each dog to run in the race. As for the severe weather, again, this is harder on the driver than the dogs… When they have to stop out in the open, the dogs will curl up into a ball with the nose under the tail and let the snow create an insulating blanket over it… it forms like a mini igloo and the dogs are quiet happy there. The driver may end up having to turn the sled on its side and get in the sled bag with a dog just to keep from
