Siirtola in 51st place

The 37^th Iditarod official ended at 4:06 Tuesday morning when Michigan rookie musher Timothy Hunt crossed the finish line in Nome.

Talkeetna musher, Heather Siirtola was ahead of him about 2 and a half hours.  She came under the burled arches at 1:35 a.m. in 51^st place.

The race, which started with 67 mushers, ended with 52 crossing the finish line.   15 mushers either scratched or were withdrawn from this year’s race.  A total of 6 dogs died in this year’s Iditarod.  The latest dog death occurred on a flight from Shaktoolik to Nome.  Alan Peck had scratched and had been picked up to fly back to Nome.  The plane went thru what was described as violent turbulence.  There is no cause of death yet for his dog.  A necropsy is being performed.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have asked Alaska State Troopers to open a criminal investigation into the dog deaths in this year’s race. However, it doesn’t appear that the cruelty-to-animals- law applies to dog mushing races