ohmidog!

Lance Mackey crossed the finish line of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at 11:38 a.m. today (Alaska time) to capture his third straight victory in the 1,100-mile race, according to the Anchorage Daily News.

“It’s done,” he said. “It’s amazing, absolutely amazing.”

The race was marred by the deaths of two more dogs. In addition to a dog on musher Jeff Holt’s team that died last week, two dogs on the team of rookie Lou Packer of Wasilla apparently froze to death. Packer scratched after being found Monday 22 miles past the Iditarod checkpoint by searchers in a plane.

Mackey became the third musher to win three Iditarods in a row, joining Montanan Doug Swingley and the late Susan Butcher.

Mackey had a huge lead after leaving White Mountain, 77 miles from the finish line in Nome. In White Mountain, he received a hug of congratulations from his mother, and turned to his dogs, according to the Associated Press.

“They’re superstars,” he told her.

Only Sebastian Schnuelle and John Baker were anywhere close to Mackey, but they were still hours behind Mackey, ahead of a storm that trapped other mushers farther back on the trail.

Thirteen mushers, including four-time champions Jeff King and Martin Buser, were holed up at the checkpoint in Shaktoolik, stopped by 40 mile-per-hour winds and a wind chill driving temperatures to more than 50 below. Temperatures were expected to be even colder Tuesday night.

Sixty-seven teams began the race more than a week ago in Willow, about 50 miles north of Anchorage. Nine teams have either scratched or been withdrawn.

Given the Pentagon’s decision to ban pit bulls and other “dangerous” dog breeds from Army housing, we thought it would be a good time to revisit Stubby, the stray pit bull who became the most decorated canine soldier of World War 1.

At war’s end, Stubby was treated like a hero. Doors were opened for him, as opposed to being slammed in his face. Today, in light of a recently approved Pentagon policy, soldiers returning home — if they have a pit bull, Rottweiler, chow or Doberman Pinscher in their family — won’t be allowed to keep them if they live on a military base. (Thanks for fighting for our “freedom,” though.)

It’s just the latest breed-specific slap in the face to pit bulls, a breed that once served not just in battle (Stubby saw action in 17), but as corporate mascots (Nipper for RCA Victor) and TV show characters (Petey on “Our Gang”).

Stubby, though he entered the armed forces surreptitiously, was the only dog to be promoted to “Sergeant” through combat.

Stubby was found on the Yale campus — parts of which were being used as a training encampment — in 1917. He was taken in by John Robert Conroy and other soldiers, marched alongside them through training and, when time came to ship out to France, was smuggled aboard the USS Minnesota in an overcoat.

Overseas, he served as a morale-booster, sentry and more.

In April 1918, Stubby, along with the 102^nd Infantry, participated in the raid on the German held town of Schieprey. As the Germans withdrew they threw hand grenades at the pursing allies, one of which wounded Stubby in the foreleg.

In the Argonne, Stubby was credited with ferreting out a German spy and holding on to the seat of his pants until soldiers arrived to complete the capture.

Stubby eventually ended up in a hospital when his master, Corporal J. Robert Conroy, was wounded. After doing hospital duty, he and Conroy returned to their unit, and served for the remainder of the way.

At war’s end, he was smuggled back home.

Upon his return, he was made a lifetime member of the American legion. He marched in every legion parade and attended every legion convention from the end of the war until his death. He met three presidents — Wilson, Harding and Coolidge.

In 1921 General Pershing, commander of American Forces during the War, awarded Stubby a gold hero dog’s medal that was commissioned by the Humane Education Society.

One New York City hotel, the Grand Hotel Majestic, lifted its ban on dogs so that Stubby could stay there enroute to one of many visits to Washington.

When Conroy went to Georgetown to study law, Stubby went along and served as mascot for the football team. Some say his halftime antics — he would push a football around the field with his nose — was the origin of the halftime show.

Stubby died in 1926. His obituary in the New York Times ran three columns wide for half a page.

His remains were mounted by a taxidermist and presented for display at the Smithsonian. From 2000 to 2003, he was loaned to the Connecticut National Guard Armory, where he was exhibited for three years.

All that history seems to be lost on the Pentagon — as does that of Rottweilers and Dobermans who have served the country, and continue to.

If remembering Stubby’s life isn’t enough to persuade the Pentagon that their action was rash, ill-conceived and discriminatory, then they should borrow from another chapter of his legacy, that being the last one:

They should take their new policy and stuff it.

(Photos and source material: Connecticut Military Department)

Meatpacking giant Tyson Foods Inc. is reportedly buying a piece of a New Jersey company that is introducing refrigerated dog food to the American marketplace.

The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that Tyson was expected to announce that it has bought a minority stake in Freshpet Co., a Secaucus, N.J., company that will be selling its dog food at Kroger, Supervalu, PetSmart and other stores.

Freshpet was formed by a group of former Meow Mix managers whose goal is to make dog food look, smell and taste as much like human food as possible. The line, the first national brand of refrigerated pet food, is aimed at consumers who — however much they may be cutting down on what they consume — are continuing to buy the finest for their pets.

A Tyson group vice president said he expects refrigerated pet food to grow into a $500 million sales category within five years.

Tyson will begin to make Freshpet products this year and will use the Tyson truck fleet to haul Freshpet products to stores alongside Tyson’s microwavable dinners, chicken breasts and hamburger, the Journal reported. Tyson, which also is opening its research kitchens to Freshpet, is stopping short of using the Tyson brand on dog food.

Tyson won’t be the first food company to diversify into pet products. Nestlé owns Purina Puppy Chow and Dog Chow, while Mars Inc. owns Whiskas, Pedigree and Sheba. Del Monte Foods owns Kibbles ‘n Bits, Meow Mix and 9 Lives.

The Humane Society of the United States and other consumers have filed a class action lawsuit against Petland, Inc., alleging it has conspired to sell unhealthy puppy mill puppies to unsuspecting consumers.

In addition to Petland, the nation’s largest chain of pet stores that sells dogs, the lawsuit names Hunte Corp., one of the country’s largest distributors of puppies, as a defendant.

The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Phoenix late Monday, alleges that Petland and Hunte violated federal law and state laws by misleading thousands of consumers across the country into believing that the puppies sold in Petland stores are healthy and come from high-quality breeders.

Many of the puppies sold by Petland, HSUS claims, come either directly from puppy mills or puppy brokers such as Hunte, which the organization says operates as a middleman between the mills and Petland’s retail stores.

Read more »