HELP: Save Iditarod dogs from abuse

PLEASE WRITE AND FORWARD WIDELY

From the Sled Dog Action Coalition, http://www.helpsleddogs.org

Please help the Iditarod dogs by sending protest emails to race supporters. These dogs are helpless victims of profoundly inhumane treatment and cannot speak for themselves. What happens to them during the Iditarod includes death, paralysis, penile frostbite, bleeding ulcers, bloody diarrhea, lung damage, ruptured discs, viral diseases and pneumonia.

For the dogs, the Iditarod is a bottomless pit of suffering. Throughout this eight to 16-day competition, Iditarod personnel encourage mushers to race diseased dogs. Instead of pulling sick dogs from the race, veterinarians frequently give them massive doses of antibiotics to keep them running.

Veterinarians also work to help the mushers before the Iditarod begins. Although the dogs are often sick, veterinarians allow them to start the race anyway. One chief Iditarod veterinarian even published a musher/veterinary handbook advising mushers on how to avoid having prohibited substances detected in pre-race veterinary checks.

USE SAMPLE LETTER TO SEND PROTEST EMAILS:

Please speak for the dogs by sending Iditarod supporters protest emails. The email addresses and a sample letter are on http://www.helpsleddogs.org/sponsors.htm. Addresses with semi-colons and commas in group form can be found at the bottom of the web page. You may want to divide the block into several groups and email each one separately.