{"id":126800,"date":"2025-03-13T19:33:29","date_gmt":"2025-03-14T00:33:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126800"},"modified":"2025-03-13T19:33:46","modified_gmt":"2025-03-14T00:33:46","slug":"doctor-curmudgeon-where-has-all-the-snow-gone","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126800","title":{"rendered":"Doctor Curmudgeon Where Has All the Snow Gone?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/pagead2.googlesyndication.com\/pagead\/js\/adsbygoogle.js?client=ca-pub-1545664804358300\" crossorigin=\"anonymous\"><\/script><br \/>\n<ins class=\"adsbygoogle\" style=\"display: block; text-align: center;\" data-ad-layout=\"in-article\" data-ad-format=\"fluid\" data-ad-client=\"ca-pub-1545664804358300\" data-ad-slot=\"8616314829\"><\/ins><br \/>\n<script>\n     (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126800\" rel=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/?p=126800\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-126801 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141-300x200.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141-300x200.png 300w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141-1024x682.png 1024w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141-768x512.png 768w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141-730x485.png 730w, https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/siberian-husky-dog-dressed-as-doctor-mint-color-background_918839-22141.png 1060w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong><br \/>\nBy Sir Galahad, KBE<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Please note this disclaimer. Today\u2019s column is not written by Doctor Curmudgeon.<\/p>\n<p>I am Galahad, Doctor Curmudgeon\u2019s Siberian Husky cousin. The doctor has requested that I author today\u2019s column because it is about something dear to my heart, the Iditarod.<br \/>\nI correspond with my cousin, Snowvanya, who has participated in this event and looks forward to it each year.<\/p>\n<p>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.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>But this year, the Iditarod course had to be rerouted.<\/p>\n<p>Climate change has led to unseasonably warm temperatures. There is a dearth of snow! Alaska! Not enough snow! Hard to believe, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n<p>So, this year\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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\u2019t 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\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n<p>Snowvanya told me how disheartening climate change has been for her fellow athletes and she does have concerns about the continuation of this event.<\/p>\n<p>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 \u201cwarm\u201d Alaskan weather, I found it is a bit too much for me, even wearing heated mittens, paw protectors, wool scarves, and a balaclava.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>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.<\/p>\n<p>Dr. Curmudgeon suggests &#8220;Bitter Medicine\u201d, Dr. Eugene Eisman&#8217;s story of his experiences&#8211;from the humorous to the intense&#8212;as a young army doctor serving in the Vietnam War.<br \/>\nBitter Medicine by Eugene H. Eisman, M.D. &#8211;on Amazon<\/p>\n<p>Doctor Curmudgeon\u00ae is Diane Batshaw Eisman, M.D., a physician-satirist. This column originally appeared on SERMO, the leading global social network for doctors.<br \/>\nSERMO <a href=\"http:\/\/www.sermo.com\">www.sermo.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><em><strong><span style=\"font-size: 14pt; color: #808000;\"><a style=\"color: #808000;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.authorhouse.com\/en\/bookstore\/bookdetails\/232300-BOXING-INTERVIEWS-OF-A-LIFETIME\">Click Here to Order Boxing Interviews Of A Lifetime By &#8220;Bad&#8221; Brad Berkwitt<\/a><\/span><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"wpforms-container wpforms-container-full\" id=\"wpforms-126533\"><form id=\"wpforms-form-126533\" class=\"wpforms-validate wpforms-form wpforms-ajax-form\" data-formid=\"126533\" method=\"post\" enctype=\"multipart\/form-data\" action=\"\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F126800\" data-token=\"aad802805d30a6a75ea2917a9f1bb412\" data-token-time=\"1778459541\"><noscript class=\"wpforms-error-noscript\">Please enable JavaScript in your browser to complete this form.<\/noscript><div class=\"wpforms-field-container\"><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-name\" data-field-id=\"1\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\">Name <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><div class=\"wpforms-field-row wpforms-field-medium\"><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-first wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-first wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][first]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">First<\/label><\/div><div class=\"wpforms-field-row-block wpforms-one-half\"><input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-name-last wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][1][last]\" required><label for=\"wpforms-126533-field_1-last\" class=\"wpforms-field-sublabel after\">Last<\/label><\/div><\/div><\/div><div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-email\" data-field-id=\"2\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\">Email <span class=\"wpforms-required-label\">*<\/span><\/label><input type=\"email\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_2\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium wpforms-field-required\" name=\"wpforms[fields][2]\" spellcheck=\"false\" required><\/div>\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4-container\"\n\t\t\tclass=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-type=\"text\"\n\t\t\tdata-field-id=\"4\"\n\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t<label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" >Comment Email or<\/label>\n\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" id=\"wpforms-126533-field_4\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][4]\" >\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3-container\" class=\"wpforms-field wpforms-field-textarea\" data-field-id=\"3\"><label class=\"wpforms-field-label\" for=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\">Comment or Message<\/label><textarea id=\"wpforms-126533-field_3\" class=\"wpforms-field-medium\" name=\"wpforms[fields][3]\" ><\/textarea><\/div><script>\n\t\t\t\t( function() {\n\t\t\t\t\tconst style = document.createElement( 'style' );\n\t\t\t\t\tstyle.appendChild( document.createTextNode( '#wpforms-126533-field_4-container { position: absolute !important; 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Today\u2019s column is not written by Doctor Curmudgeon. I am Galahad, Doctor Curmudgeon\u2019s Siberian Husky cousin. The doctor has requested that I author today\u2019s column because it is about something dear to my heart, the Iditarod. I correspond with my cousin, Snowvanya, who has participated in this [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":126801,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32611],"class_list":["post-126800","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-boxing-news","tag-doctor-curmudgeon-where-has-all-the-snow-gone"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126800","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=126800"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/126800\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/126801"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=126800"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=126800"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ringsidereport.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=126800"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}