Happy Trails Dog Kennels

These are pictures from our last day in Alaska. On our way from Denali to Anchorage we stopped at the Happy Trails Dog Kennels. This was truly one of my highlights of the trip. The kennels are owned by Martin Buser who has raced in and won the Iditarod Race. The race celebrates an event in Alaska's history. In January 1925 a diphtheria epidemic broke out among the Eskimo children in Nome, Alaska. The only way to get serum to Nome was to send in on the train from Steward to Nenana and then to haul it the rest of the way on dog sleds 674 miles. Twenty mushers worked with 100 dogs in a relay to get the serum to Nome in five days. The Iditarod Sled Dog Race started in the late 1960's. The race covers 1049 miles in 9 - 15 days. One picture shows how excited these dogs get when it's time to harness up with each other to start racing. They all wanted to race. Another picture is their version of a dog treadmill (or treadwheel). I actually saw several dogs get in the wheel by themselves and start running. These aren't your pretty Alaskan husky thoughbred dogs either. These are all mixed breeds bred for stamina. During the race the musher must carry enough food and supplies for his dogs. There are mandatory stops every twenty to sixty miles during the race in which both the musher and a veterinary must check out each dog. If a musher has a problem with a dog while racing he must be able to carry the dog in his sled to the next stop. The mushers start out with 12-16 dogs and must end with at least 6 dogs. I was really impressed with the love and care given to these dogs. All the dogs let us pet them. They even let us hold the puppies.