Doctor Curmudgeon Where Has All the Snow Gone?

By Sir Galahad, KBE

Please note this disclaimer. Today’s column is not written by Doctor Curmudgeon.

I am Galahad, Doctor Curmudgeon’s Siberian Husky cousin. The doctor has requested that I author today’s column because it is about something dear to my heart, the Iditarod.
I correspond with my cousin, Snowvanya, who has participated in this event and looks forward to it each year.

The Iditarod is the annual trail sled dog race covering 938 miles from Anchorage to Nome. This is the Olympic event for sled dogs. Each team has between twelve and sixteen dogs, and these rugged athletes race through subzero temperatures, blizzards, whiteouts, and battering winds.

But this year, the Iditarod course had to be rerouted.

Climate change has led to unseasonably warm temperatures. There is a dearth of snow! Alaska! Not enough snow! Hard to believe, isn’t it?

So, this year’s race has a new route, 1128 miles from Fairbanks to Nome, beginning north of the Alaska Range. The dogs will now have to travel almost 600 miles on icy rivers as they race to the finish line in the Bering Sea coastal town of Nome. It does make me anxious because all that ice means less traction.

I spoke with Snowvanya about ten days before the race. She had just completed her physical, and her EKG was normal. Her veterinarian had reviewed the results of her CBC and chemistry panel, which were superb. She has her microchip. She told me to tell our cousin, Doctor Curmudgeon, that she has also had all her vaccinations.

We do worry about her in this grueling race. She assured me that there are veterinary physicians along the way. She is very attentive to her feet and wears her booties, frequently changing them. She is always mindful of protecting her paws. She said that her windbreaker jacket is specially quilted and insulated. Snowvanya also has a T shirt under it, so that she doesn’t suffer from chafing. I learned that she puts on her gaiters when it is really cold. I must confess that really cold in Alaska does give me, a Siberian Husky, the shivers. I didn’t know what a gaiter is but it turns out to be a sleeve that covers her front legs, and goes over her shoulders. She wears these because her front feet can kick up ice crystals onto the backs of her legs. She says they look like suspenders.

Snowvanya told me how disheartening climate change has been for her fellow athletes and she does have concerns about the continuation of this event.

I am a Husky and enjoy running, especially in cold weather, but I was born in Nebraska, and the family soon moved to Florida. This is where I was raised, and live. Having visited my cousin Snowvanya, in “warm” Alaskan weather, I found it is a bit too much for me, even wearing heated mittens, paw protectors, wool scarves, and a balaclava.

Of course, Snowvanya cannot bring her cell phone with her during the race. But she assured me that her musher (the person who controls the sled and handles the brake) has communication ability with veterinarians.

I now understand that these elite athletes who take great pride in their ability, have superb care and training, Snowvanya wanted me to know that the Iditarod is more than a race and a great event in Alaska. But she and her companions are working dogs who coordinate with veterinary schools at Cornell University and the University of Illinois among others. They share performance data, DNA, and blood test results. Some retired athletes have gone to Cornell to work with researchers and immunologists on health projects, and studies to prolong canine lives. This information has led to knowledge about cardiovascular function, muscular health, and nutrition. It has benefitted dogs all around the world.

Dr. Curmudgeon suggests “Bitter Medicine”, Dr. Eugene Eisman’s story of his experiences–from the humorous to the intense—as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.
Bitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. –on Amazon

Doctor Curmudgeon® is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.
SERMO www.sermo.com

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