The Iditarod is brutal to dogs......no shit!

In response to this article.

The Iditarod is a race that spans over 1150 miles of some of the roughest and most beautiful terrain on the planet. Mushers and their prized dog teams race this old mail and supply route over many many days of long hours and sub-zero temperatures. Arguably, it is one of the most challenging endurance races on the planet, both for the mushers, and for the dogs. It has a long tradition of being one of the more brutal sporting events in the world. People and dogs have died during this race.

Now we have the sentiment going around that this is brutal on the dogs. No shit! These dogs are bred and trained for their entire lives to run this race. They are happiest when they are hooked up and pulling. Ask any musher worth his salt and they will tell you how much they love their dogs. Is the Iditarod cruel? No. While we are at it, we might as well go ahead and end horse-racing, or any animal race for that matter. Oh wait. What about the Tour de France bike race? Surely that must be cruel to the people riding in it. How about the rodeo? Circuses must be havens of cruelty as well.

This race is not unique. These dogs are beasts of burden. It just happens that these people love their dogs very very much. What people get out of trying to demonize these events is beyond me. Yes the dogs are whipped until they learn their job, yes MANY dogs die during training, racing, or post race. This is a hard fact of life to stomach, but is IS a fact of life in these extreme conditions. No one thinks twice about a trained lion being whipped. No one blinks an eye when a horse is whipped. You touchy feely bleeding hearts are going to end everything that is either slightly offensive, or leaves less than a fuzzy feeling on your heart.