MARQUETTE, Mich. (WLUC) – Before any UP200 racers could head to the starting line, their dogs needed to go through a pre-race vet check Friday morning.
Mushers participating in the UP200, Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 took their dogs to Riverside Auto in Marquette Friday. Among them was Mary Manning, who has more than 25 years of racing experience. Manning was pleased with how the pre-race vet check went.
“Because there are so many teams and so many dogs, they have a pretty high level of organization for vet checks and it shows,” Manning said. “So it is probably one of the smoothest vet checks that we do.”
The vet team is responsible for ensuring the dogs’ are healthy enough to go all weekend. So, the checkups are very thorough.
“We’re looking at the hydration, the color of their gums,” Chief Race Vet for the UP200, Midnight Run and Jack Pine 30 Tom Gustafson said. “We’re gonna listen to their heart to make certain their heart sounds normal. We’re gonna register their heart rate and then the next important thing is we’re gonna assess what’s called a body condition score which is an evaluation of how much weight the dog is carrying on them.”
Each dog’s health will be monitored as the race goes on with the help of a vet log. Every team has to carry one throughout the race, and each dog has its own page where the vets can make notes at each checkpoint.
“If they’re not meeting certain benchmarks we’ll discuss it with the mushers,” Gustafson said. “It’s a conversation. The mushers are totally invested into these dogs. It’s their life. It’s their teammates and, so, they’re going to do the best for the dogs and we’re just there to help advise them to make certain their making the correct decisions.”
If a dog is withdrawn from the race, they’ll travel in a team member’s vehicle until they reach the finish line.
Copyright 2025 WLUC. All rights reserved.
This post was originally published on this site be sure to check out more of their content.
