Husky News

A sixth dog in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race has died..

Race officials say the dog on Alan Peck’s team died during a flight from Shaktoolik to Nome.

The musher had scratched in Shaktoolik, and officials were picking up the dog team Monday. Race spokesman Chas St. George says the airplane encountered significant turbulence during the flight. The pilot was forced to land in Golovin, where it was discovered that one of the dogs, a 2-year-old female name Cirque, had died.

St. George says the dogs were in good condition when loaded onto the plane. A necropsy has been scheduled.

Earlier in the race, dogs on the teams of Rick Larson, Warren Palfrey and Jeff Holt died. Two dogs died in Lou Packer’s team when they were caught in a windstorm outside the ghost town of Iditarod.

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked Alaska State Troopers to open a criminal investigation into the deaths this year of Iditarod sled dogs.

The 1,100-mile race started March 8 near Anchorage. The last two mushers crossed under the burled arch finish line in Nome on Tuesday morning. Michigan musher Timothy Hunt was the final musher in, arriving at 4:06 a.m.

Source: The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner