Another Snowmobile VS Sled dog ( not good)
- Thread starter Turtlehead
- Start date
I reviewed two incomplete stories about what happened.
Plus the "snow machine" operator stopped helped and made a confirmation with the dog driver everything was okay with the dog engine before leaving.
The "dog operator" did not notice any trauma to the animal until the next day after the resting.
Again another incomplete story with implied fault to the social underdog.
But wait somewone commented on the dog driving website the dog runner should have inspected his engine prior to saying all is okay and only to discover after he took care of himself with much needed rest and food the dog engine was broken.
Plus the "snow machine" operator stopped helped and made a confirmation with the dog driver everything was okay with the dog engine before leaving.
The "dog operator" did not notice any trauma to the animal until the next day after the resting.
Again another incomplete story with implied fault to the social underdog.
But wait somewone commented on the dog driving website the dog runner should have inspected his engine prior to saying all is okay and only to discover after he took care of himself with much needed rest and food the dog engine was broken.
the comments under the article are real interesting. If you had not read the incomplete story, you would have thought that the riders did a hit and run. not stopped to make sure team and driver were ok. This is not good, I hope the dog is ok, but there are a lot of factors there where blame is going to be tossed around.
I can understand him being drained from that race, but i thought he would've looked him over with a fine toothed comb right then. that would've been me if it was my prized dog. But then again finding something like that with out walking his dog around a little bit first off would've been pretty dang hard. esp when you need to get some rest.
I can understand him being drained from that race, but i thought he would've looked him over with a fine toothed comb right then. that would've been me if it was my prized dog. But then again finding something like that with out walking his dog around a little bit first off would've been pretty dang hard. esp when you need to get some rest.
I agree and would've looked the dog over with a fine toothed comb right then ... that would've been me if it was my prized dog, my prized snow machine or my car but again we only see the news reporting glazed over article ... the devil is in the details.
donbrown,
Have you ever been on the Iditarod Trail?
Do you know Lance Mackey?
Were you aware that snowmobiles (snowmachines in AK) are not social underdogs in Alaska, and especially not 600 miles from the road system
The snowmobile driver was at fault and the investigation will bear that out. My guess is he was inebriated, since, sadly enough, some 90 percent of all accidents in bush Alaska involve alcohol or illicit drugs.
The musher, Lance Mackey is the first person to ever win the Yukon Quest and Iditarod in the same year....twice in a row (07 & 08). Besides his wife and kids, his dogs are center of his world. Lance is renowned for being an attentive and caring musher. The injured dog was riding in the sledbag at the time of the crash. Your innuendo that Mackey failed his dog by examining him closely enough and realizing how badly injured he was belies your ignorance of Alaska, it's geography and traditions.
The crash came 900+ miles into an 1,100 mile race. It happened in the dark, on the trail. Though highly experienced, Lance Mackey was there for the second time in a month's time, on his feet for days, exhausted. Have you, or anyone else on this forum ever misinterpreted or misestimated something important while exhausted and stressed out? What makes you think he didn't look the dog over with a fine tooth comb? Is it believable that in his judgement, given the circumstances the dog was in good enough condition to continue riding in the sled. He a musher not a vet. Beside's what other options did he have? Pull off at the next exit and call a cop?
There is no general anti-snowmobile sentiment in Alaska. We snowmachiners share trails with dog teams in many parts of the state, and although sledder-dog team collisions are rare, they are almost always the fault of the guy of the machine. For us, the issue doesn't automatically default to "evil motor-heads strike again" like where you live. For Alaskans, the focus is on the individual who acted irresponsibly, not their mode of transportation.
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Well I had this reply all ready to post and my son crawled to the wall plug and flipped the off switch for the computer. He made his point.
I failed to provide you the proper response so you can understand the earlier replies made.
To keep it short.
The news is incomplete.
People will formulate their own opinion because of the void of complete information.
Most opinions will be biased and support the authors own point of view.
Most people who formulate an opinion will support the socially acceptable dog and then alienate and dehumanize the driver of the snowmobile.
Is it reasonable to say the majority of socially accepted behavior and opinion follow a herd mentality?
A
AkHockey10
Well-known member
Good post, Spin!
H
HighMark Adventures
Well-known member
Ok I will get flamed like I always do . First of all the article only had this to say about the snowmobilers in respect to helping out.
"The driver who hit Mackey and his partner on the other machine helped the musher right his team and then continued on."
Not much info there. Did they offer to help with the possibly injured dog. Were they disrespectful and just quickly helped get him on his way. Did they apologize? Accidents do happen on the road ,on the water ,and on the trail.Were snowmobiles allowed on this trail during the actual race? If so its an unfortunate accident if buddy wasn`t drinking. If snowmobiles were banned/prohibitied then they have a case. Hope the dog gets better.
Just wish the news would be unbiased like "they are supposed to be" Its clear that the article is biased towards the dog team.
And yes I am totally ignorant to the sport of dogsledding.
So do people up there just go out for a snowmobile ride 900 miles from nowhere?
"The driver who hit Mackey and his partner on the other machine helped the musher right his team and then continued on."
Not much info there. Did they offer to help with the possibly injured dog. Were they disrespectful and just quickly helped get him on his way. Did they apologize? Accidents do happen on the road ,on the water ,and on the trail.Were snowmobiles allowed on this trail during the actual race? If so its an unfortunate accident if buddy wasn`t drinking. If snowmobiles were banned/prohibitied then they have a case. Hope the dog gets better.
Just wish the news would be unbiased like "they are supposed to be" Its clear that the article is biased towards the dog team.
And yes I am totally ignorant to the sport of dogsledding.
So do people up there just go out for a snowmobile ride 900 miles from nowhere?
If someone had rear ended you in a car and you were injured would you feel the same way? Would you actually feel it was acceptable if they said well lets wait and see what the police find before you call this my fault? Drinking or not, you'd be less than happy, right?
I don't think the article necessarily represents bias, just common sense.
T
theultrarider
Well-known member
Some people up here LIVE 900 miles or more from the nearest road. So the snowmachine becomes a "car" as well as a play toy. There are alot of people in bush alaska that put 10-20,000 miles a year on their snowmachines. They are their cars. Before snowmachines, it was and in some cases, still is that dog teams are ones means of transportation to get the groceries.
Here's an update: http://www.komotv.com/sports/17156371.html
Upside, the snowmobiler has come forward and is cooperating. Downside, alcohol was involved. Of course, that could be trace amounts (trace amounts of alcohol showed up in an autopsy I read and the deceased had not had a drink in over 48 hours), or lots, we don't know, nor will we ever.
Upside, the snowmobiler has come forward and is cooperating. Downside, alcohol was involved. Of course, that could be trace amounts (trace amounts of alcohol showed up in an autopsy I read and the deceased had not had a drink in over 48 hours), or lots, we don't know, nor will we ever.
Kudos to Lance Mackey for refusing to name the sledder and for not tossing out accusations and allowing the press to indulge in the usual malignment of the snowmachining community. And by the way this was a 500 mile "winner take all" race with a 100,000 dollar purse. The difference between this race and the Iditirod is that the musher MUST finish with all the dogs he started with, so no dogs may be dropped at checkpoints and picked up later as is the case with the Iditirod. That's why Zorro was in the sled bag, and Mackey didn't realize the extent of the injuries immediately. While I know that accidents do happen, this was really unfortunate as Zorro really is a true MVP in the international dog racing community. He was the bedrock of Mackey's kennel and the main bloodline in his very successful team.
All that aside, the Anchorage Daily News IS a very liberal and biased tree hugger publication. You will very rarely see an article published by them that is NOT slanted against any type of motorsports.
All that aside, the Anchorage Daily News IS a very liberal and biased tree hugger publication. You will very rarely see an article published by them that is NOT slanted against any type of motorsports.
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