Four thousand paws Caring for the dogs of the Iditarod : a veterinarian's story

Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Veterinarian Morgan debuts with a riveting and joyous account of his work over the past decade caring for the elite canine athletes who participate in Alaska's annual 1,049-mile-long Iditarod race. Morgan details how veterinarians ensure that the huskies pulling the sleds are well treated and safe while dealing with frigid winter conditions in remote wilderness. Recounting episodes alternately humorous and harrowing, Morgan tells of catching a mischievous husky raiding another team's food stores (a not insignificant problem when the only available food must be flown in) and treating dogs seriously injured after a snowmobile driver deliberately rammed a sled for unknown reasons. Morgan backs up his belief "that huskies experience love, fear, happiness, sadness, and maybe even hope" with observations from the trail. For example, he notes that many of the dogs enjoy racing so much mushers have to use an "anchor... set firmly in the ice" to keep the harnessed canines from speeding away before the starting signal, and that injured dogs who have to be left behind at checkpoints for treatment often "howl all night," distraught at being separated from their team. The novelistic narrative captures the excitement of the race, and Morgan manages to be sensitive to the dogs' interior lives without anthropomorphizing them. Even those with no prior interest in the Iditarod will be enthralled. Photos. (Feb.)

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Review by Library Journal Review

DC-based Morgan has written the first book about the world-famous Iditarod dog sled race from a veterinarian's perspective. A veterinary race volunteer since 2012, the author captures the energy, excitement, and danger of the race, deftly covers the history of the Iditarod from its inception in 1973 to current times and issues (COVID, doping, musher safety, and climate change), while capturing the magic of the Alaskan wilderness. As the race has grown (in popularity and controversy) over the years, so has the advanced veterinary care that the sled dogs receive. In the early years there was only one veterinarian responsible for the medical care of hundreds of dogs; there were no emergency protocols, and as a result, dozens of dogs died that first year. Now skilled vet teams at each checkpoint and proactive injury prevention have contributed to a much safer racing culture. Since this book is written by a veterinarian, the author also discusses the physiology, endurance training, and personality of the Iditarod's amazing canine athletes. VERDICT Dog lovers and sports fans will enjoy the down-to-earth writing style of this behind-the-scenes perspective of the 1,049-mile-long "last great race on Earth."--Aspasia Luster

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

A veterinarian narrates his experiences volunteering his services for the Iditarod. When Morgan applied to help with the sled dogs of the Iditarod--the 1,049-mile Alaskan race the author calls "the hardest endurance event in the world"--he wasn't sure that his experience running a veterinary practice in Washington, D.C., and treating professional animals like seeing-eye dogs and police dogs would be enough to qualify him for the coveted position. To his surprise (and delight), Morgan was chosen, and he set off for his first Iditarod in 2012. Over the ensuing years, Morgan became a regular volunteer whose empathy and curiosity made him an expert in a variety of trivia, including the evolution of Alaskan huskies, their establishment as the official Iditarod race dogs (which followed one competitor's disastrous attempt to race with a team of standard poodles), and the personal histories of mushers like Newton Marshall, one of the race's only Caribbean competitors. Morgan doesn't shield readers from the most intense parts of the race. He describes surviving a tent fire and poignantly remembers the aftermath of a brutal attack on two mushers that killed a sled dog. While the narrative has a few misses--e.g., the author seems overly awed by the participation of a group of incarcerated women charged with caring for injured dogs--he crafts a deeply researched, charmingly narrated, and intensely compassionate behind-the-scenes look at one of the most intense human-animal collaborations in modern history. Readers will leave with a huge appreciation for huskies, the landscape that bred them, and the humans who care for them. The author concludes, "Some say…that huskies shouldn't be allowed to run with abandon through the wilderness…I know thousands of huskies who emphatically disagree." A captivating, fast-paced, eclectic memoir about animals and humans cooperating to accomplish extraordinary feats. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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