PETA demands charges against Mushers for dog deaths. (live, price)

[quakinator]

Originally Posted by Woof Woof Woof!

If that were true, why do you think they would outlaw the sport in the state of Massachusetts?

Cause it's freaking Massachusetts....did you really just ask that question?

[Rance]

I'm just amazed there are Texans that know more about sled dogs than an Alaskan team owner.

[Marty Van Diest]

Let's see. There were 67 mushers times 16 dogs each=1072 dogs X 14 days comes to 15,000 dog days, give or take a little. Divide 15000 by 365 days and you have 41 years. You would expect 3-4 dogs to die of old age in that amount of time.

There were 5 deaths, that's not good. But lets have a little perspective here. Over 9 million dogs are killed each year by animal "shelters". Probably at least that many are killed each year by their owner over feeding their pet. Obesity is the number one killer of dogs.

I don't know how many are killed by cars, or how many are thrown off bridges etc.

There were 5 deaths out of more than 1000 dogs over a 2 week period.

Should we prosecute pet owners for killing their dogs by over feeding them? Or by letting them run out in traffic. Both actions are irresponsible on the part of the owner.

Oh...and all this killing is in the US alone. This doesn't count the dogs killed in countries like China and such places.

[JavaPhil]

I see that the first portion of the article is written by Jennifer O'Connor, a staff writer for PETA and the second portion is written by Alice White, whose statement about owners who should not be allowed to be near animals is taken out of context by the poster.

If I knew of any musher who slept while his/her dogs ran, I would consider him/her a candidate for a Darwin award. They don't ride in the sled, but are either on the skids behind it, or on foot holding the handles to maneuver the sled. Obviously they haven't watched or seen the race. The trail is not a clearly marked trail, and mushers have lost the trail and then had to find it again to continue on to the next check point.

The mushers understand that the dogs are their only real survival tools. Without them, they are reduced to what they can carry on their backs and limited in speed to less than a normal walking speed.

[akbound08]

peta sucks

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by JavaPhil

I see that the first portion of the article is written by Jennifer O'Connor, a staff writer for PETA and the second portion is written by Alice White, whose statement about owners who should not be allowed to be near animals is taken out of context by the poster.

Well, I'm glad you can see that because that's why I posted the link. So people could read PETA position, however incorrect it may be, and read a response from a person who is in a much better position to know what the truth is.

You are misinterpreting what I wrote. In no way did I intend to take anything out of context. Nothing was attributed to her that she did not write. (Same subject, same paragraph, but two separate sentences - ).

It's obvious that I am agreeing with what she wrote in her response to the article.

RANCE - Well, just maybe there are Texans who know more about dogs than an Alaskan team owner. In certain cases, that would not be too hard. Being an Alaskan really does not qualify one as an expert at sledding, owning dogs or training dogs as athletes.

There were "team owner(s)" in the 2009 Iditarod who used their pets as athletes, or rather tried to. Yeah, I live in Oregon and I'd say in at least one particular case, even I know more than "an Alaskan." And I have a JRT....

FWIW, I'm guessing there're a few of those yayhoos up there who think they're in the same category as Lance Mackey. I tend not to agree with that, but you can't stop people from believing.

[warptman]

JRT? I used to have one of those! A Jalopy Red Truck!

[Wicked Felina]

Originally Posted by warptman

JRT? I used to have one of those! A Jalopy Red Truck!

.....

[SunsetBeachFL]

Originally Posted by akbound08

peta sucks

Thank you!

Yes, for PETA members, I've done MY research, not YOUR research results although I have looked at that too.

PETA: Stop, regroup and get back to your original intent.

Can you still find it?

Interesting post, really liked most of the links and, yes, I read the entire thread. Good read, thanks to all for your posts, very enlightening which led me to my own research... wow! Don't get me started on animal cruelty....

[FlyersFan]

Originally Posted by Moose Whisperer

And what about those flyball tournaments? Or what about AKC dog shows? Why are those not considered abuse?

When was the last time a dog froze to death at a dog show ??? I think you've been whispering to too many Mooses !!!