With Nome just a few miles away, a team races toward the finish line during the 2017 Iditarod. (Marc Lester / ADN archive) - Anchorage, Alaska 
Iditarod will establish dog-care standards for competitors
The Iditarod Trail Committee announced Friday that it will establish dog-care standards that mushers competing in the annual race must meet.
The standards will be part of a new "Best Care" kennel management program for year-round dog care, according to a statement from the Iditarod Trail Committee, the nonprofit that stages the 1,000-mile sled dog race to Nome.
"The ITC has been talking about this for a while," Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George said of the program.
The program will include kennel visits and a certification process, he said. The standards will cover "areas such as breeding, shelter, tethers, cleanliness, nutrition, hydration, vaccinations, socialization, bedding, record-keeping, euthanasia, on-site care and kennel size," according to the Iditarod statement.
The Iditarod Trail Committee Board of Directors appointed seven current and former Iditarod mushers to an advisory committee that will help create the standards of care, the statement said. The committee includes DeeDee Jonrowe, Martin Buser, Jeff King, Aliy Zirkle, Vern Halter, Sebastian Schnuelle and Karen Ramstead.
St. George said the Iditarod is still working out details of the program, including who will enforce the dog-care standards and how. Mushers who compete in the Iditarod span not only the country, but the globe.
"Whether you're in Norway or in Rhode Island, you're still going to have to adhere to the standards," St. George said.
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