PETA certainly thinks keeping pets should be illegal. One of their founding members wants to eradicate the entire pit bull breed.

Care to tell us how the dogs are forced to run? The mushers don't use whips (they would be disqualified and arrested for animal abuse). Dogs they raise that refuse to run are simply given up for adoption. The dogs they run literally get upest/anxious if they're kept from running. So please, explain how the dogs are forced to run.

How? The idiot ARA's are being put in their place, and the rest is mature discussions and good humor.

Not just Balto, but several teams that ran a relay to get medicine to Nome. The real hero dog was Togo, who lead his team nearly 300 miles in the relay. Balto ran the last and shortest leg, which is why he got credit as the hero.

Funny, seeing as no dogs died last year, or for several years. But ARA's like you don't care about the truth.

Yes, I'm aware since the race started in the 70's "154" dogs have died. But, that number includes dogs that died days, even weeks before the race even started. It's also compared to over 10,000 dogs running the race since the 70's, so it's not even a 1% mortality. More humans have died on average playing human sports than dogs have died running the Iditarod. Most definitely hypocritical groups like PETA have killed more dogs in their one and only "animal shelter" (approximately 2000 animals last year alone). But the main reason I refer to these dogs as being made of iron is that they are the Olympic athletes of dogs. They accomplish something no average dog has or can. Like with any sport, there are risks, but everything that can be done to keep those dogs healthy and alive is done every year during the race. That's more than I can say for sports like football and for ARA groups like PETA. Maybe you should focus on the REAL mass killers of animals.

Understandable. Seppala Huskies are more useful as team leaders for sled dog work rather than racing. I'm sure many racing sled dogs have Seppala Husky ancestry because that breed is incredibly smart and intuitive in understanding its musher and leading/being part of a team. But purebred Seppalas aren't the best for straight up racing these days.

What I find hilarious is that those who protest the Iditarod seemingly ignore much worse things happening to animals around the world. Including the organization that is most vocal in speaking out against the Iditarod. An organization that has been proven in killing thousands of animals every year: PETA. Don't get me wrong, all animal abuses should be stopped, but the Iditarod is not what should be targeted. It is only targeted because it's easy and gets more attention than going after real animal abuse problems.

Dogs made of absolute iron. It is really impressive what those dogs can accomplish.