September 14, 2004
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Dog mushers are dog lovers.
I’ll say it again, and I’ll keep saying it: every dog
musher I’ve ever known loves his or her dogs. Huskies love to
run, and they love those men and women who hitch them up to sleds in
the winter and wheeled vehicles in the summer and take them out for
daily runs in all kinds of weather. It is the bond between
musher and dogs, as much as any other factor, that lets those
inter-species teams finish a thousand-mile race, much less win it.
All you have to do is watch the mushers carrying their lead dogs
onto the winner’s platform by the burled arch in Nome, and see the dogs
licking their faces and the mushers kissing them back, to know the
truth of it.Poor Margery Glickman, a benighted Floridian who has probably never
watched a sled dog race or visited a musher’s dog lot, is at it
again. That woman’s head is so far up her ass, no wonder she has
such a shitty perspective on things.ANIMAL RIGHTS:
Critics say the sport constitutes abuse.The Associated Press
(Published: September 14, 2004)
(Photo by Fran Durner / Anchorage Daily News)PULASKI, N.Y. — An appearance by musher DeeDee Jonrowe during a
four-day series of workshops on female empowerment is drawing protests
from animal rights activists.Jonrowe, a breast cancer survivor who holds the fastest women’s time in
the 1,100-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Alaska, is scheduled to
speak Friday at a school in Pulaski as part of Wild Women Unite.
The conference is designed to teach women to empower themselves by
learning about having fun in the outdoors, said Yvonne Kopy, the
event’s director.Kopy said she has received about 30 e-mails a day, from as far away as
Europe, asking her to remove Jonrowe from the program. Jonrowe is still
expected to speak Friday.
“I’ve fought many battles, but I didn’t expect this one,” Kopy said.
“The U.K., Italy, France, Scotland. That they really care who comes to
Pulaski, N.Y. I had to laugh.”Many of the protest e-mails are a form letter created by Sled Dog
Action Coalition, a Florida-based animal rights organization.
The letter asks that Wild Women Unite sever its ties with Jonrowe,
calling the Iditarod a “barbaric race” during which cruel mushers push
their dogs to inhumane limits.
“The Iditarod is animal abuse,” Margery Glickman, director for Sled Dog
Action Coalition, wrote by e-mail. “And animal abuse is not
motivational for women.”The Virginia-based People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals also
opposes the Iditarod and criticized Jonrowe’s appearance.
Jonrowe has said in past interviews that sled dog racing is a lifestyle
that animal rights activists don’t understand. Dog sleds are a
traditional way to travel in areas that are inaccessible by other
means.“It’s a development on that lifestyle,” she said. “What I’m doing
brought on the need for premium foods, health care, sports medicine,
things like that for animals.”
Jonrowe said she loves all her dogs and that it’s hard to hear people
who don’t know her accuse her of animal cruelty.Anchorage Daily News | Dog musher’s appearance draws protest
Just had to share that.
Comments (18)
I’ve never met a musher first hand, but everything I have ever seen on Discovery Channel and such is that they have amazingly close, caring relationships with their dogs. It seems like these people should spend their time worrying about the animals that are abandoned, abused, starved, etc. rather than those that are well fed and cared for.
This may not be pertinent, but the one and only dog I owned (MANY years ago) was a Samoyed, also a working dog. I knew nothing about the breed at the time, but this dog was constantly trying to find a job – herding the cats from one room to another, for instance, and my then-three-year old, also (Mom! Make her stop!). I could mention many others, but just let me say I know certain dogs thrive on having a job to do.
kind of like the people with the pro-life bumper stickers and their kids crawling all over inside the moving car instead of wearing seatbelts.
mindsets just confuses me sometimes.
Thanks for your perspective.
I think gemtaur said it very well: focus on the animals that aren’t being cared for at all. I have nothing for respect for dog mushers, they have respect for their animals, diligence, stamina. How they do it, I don’t know.
My daughter pushed an animal-rights activist in the face the other day and told him to turn into a dog.
i wonder if these people have ever spent 12 hours packing milk cartons into boxes … or held a minimum wage job … it’s sad how they spend so much time worrying about dogs and totally ignore how some of the people around them are living … i think it would be more abusive to have these huskies just lying around the house doing nothing … sometimes i’ve seen huskies in pens that obviously never got to do much of anything and they were unhappy animals … a big dog like that needs to do things
I think maybe people should learn to shut up when they don’t really know what they are talking about. I could be wrong though.
Isn’t there something bizarre and ironic about a Sled Dog Action Coalition being based in FLORIDA??? Sheesh, people are weird.
Hi sweety–loved the head up her ass comment!
Had one of those mornings, but wont blog about it–woke up at 4:59, couldn’t get back to sleep, my foot was hurting all the way up to my hip, took 2 Aleve at 5:30, finally got to sleep after letting Silky out. When I did get up, my ankle was hurting so much I could barely walk–happily, everything is much better now–the painswitch helped some, and I am dressed for success, ready to sell sell sell at the market, and shop shop shop afterwards.
THIS I think I will blog about, it is real Alaskana.
Have a great day, I’ll call you tonight, or call me if you get a BD. Love ya!
Never known a real musher, but I’ve read some of Randy’s books about sledding and the dogs. Interesting stuff, even if you could never pay me enough to do it!
I do know a little something about Huskies, so I’ll give my, “Hell yeah!” to the bit about them loving to run. Randy’s got one who is currently living with his sister. Put a harness on that dog and all he wants to do is pull and run, not that he’s ever been hooked to anything but his leash!
The sled dogs I saw in Alaska certainly appeared hale and hearty. And they really wanted to pull that training sled. They were having a great time!
My aunt owns Samoyeds, they’re show dogs.
They do real well in the weight pulling. I can’t imagine that’s abusive. Those kinds of dogs they have pulling their sleds are built to do it.
I am ALL for animal rights; some of the abuse that animals are put through is horrible…but I just don’t see it here. Here, I see a lifestyle, endurance and fitness for both dog and master, and from what I have seen and read about, a great respect between the two. These dogs are trained and have a natural aptititude for this; they aren’t just thrown into it.
Still another Xanga-gram–been hearing from my hip and knees loud and clear, starting at five this morning–not enough to scream, more than enough to gasp.
Finished my blog but am running out of library time, I wanna proof it again before I post it.
No knives at the PO today, I probably should run in tomorrow if they are there, but I have this odd feeling that I’d be better off not to. I should check w/the Crystal Oracle.
There was something else, hope I remember it before tonight.
Take care of yourself and your blood sugar, and take your meds–love ya!
wow, this is why i love reading your posts. i never fail to learn something new! i’ve never HEARD of a dog musher before. come to think about it, i need to post something on my site right now about some dogs i saw the other day.
rachael
We should harness the Bush administration to run a race, but them I don’t love at all.
Yeah, if the dogs enjoy the race and the companionship with the dog mushers, I see no cause to call it abuse. Some of these protesters simply need to understand what they’re getting into and the true nature of things before they take such ill-advised stands. Ignorance, really.
I would also like to wish you a very Happy Birthday today. I hope you celebrate in style!