A musher, who was a contender for the title of “musher of the year,” was forced to withdraw from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race following the death a dog on his team. According to a press release from the Iditarod Trail Committee, a five-year-old dog on Richie Beattie’s (bib #50) team died two days after crossing the finish line in Nome.

Beattie’s dog, Oshi, showed signs of distress on March 14 – the day his team crossed the finish line. The dog was flown on an emergency charter flight to an Anchorage animal hospital where she was given a preliminary diagnosis of aspiration pneumonia. Despite veterinary intervention, Oshi died on March 16.

Rules of the race dictate that Beattie had to drop his team. The trail committee explained:

“Per rule 42 of the Iditarod official race rules, Beattie has been withdrawn from the race
and is fully cooperating with Iditarod officials. Per rule 41, all canine athletes are “under the jurisdiction of the Race Marshal from the time they enter the staging area at the start until 72 hours after they have been
released by ITC veterinarians or 48 hours after the final musher finishes.”

A full necropsy will be conducted on the dog to confirm her cause of death.

(Stock image via Pixabay)