Sled Dog Crossings 
After our summer (and I use the term loosely) training respite, who isn’t looking forward to those crisp 5 a.m. runs, the scent of freshly fired-up woodstove in the air, and the sound of your own muffled cries from boiling coffee saturating your lap while you whiplash your way down that dirt road of dreams? Apparently, a lot of us - as each new training season seems to bring a fresh influx of folks interested in the sport and hungry to learn. Keep in mind, though, that as mushing becomes an increasingly popular endeavor, it also becomes an increasingly popular and public topic of debate: is mushing a “negative” sport? What differentiates it from greyhound tracks? Horse racing? Circus animals? Livestock? Where do you draw the line? Is there a line? And why should I even think about this?
Well, this is why: you just should. And if you can’t, then you’re exactly the person who really needs to think about it. We don’t live in the time of Jack London stories. And someday, somewhere, someone will challenge you with those uncomfortable questions and more. It behooves you to think about your response so when you are confronted, whether by someone else or yourself, you know of what you speak and are on firm ethical ground. And it’s ethics, high standards and humane kennel/race/training management that we need to pass along to our newcomers.
We owe it to the sport. We owe it to the dogs.
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Dr. Tim Hunt graduated from Michigan State University in 1989 as a veterinarian. He practices and owns a small animal practice in the Marquette, Mich area for the past 12 years. Tim began mushing 10 years ago after working with sled dogs in the capacity of a veterinarian. He says it was "more fun to run them than to just work on them." "It started with four and now we have more." He worked as a race vet in the UP 200 and Iditarod several times. As a musher, he has run the UP 200 many times along with the Beargrease, Midnight Run, Percy De Wolfe, Wyoming Stage Stop and numerous weekend races. Tim enjoys winter camping with the dogs as well as racing. He has won the prestigious Humanitarian and Sportsmanship Awards in the UP 200 and worked on the UP 200 Race Board for 3 years including 2 as the president. Tim, wife Mary, and stepson Tom live in Sundell, Michigan along with 30 Alaskan huskies. Tim says he's looking forward to this race season as they are going to Europe to compete in the inaugural La Grande Odyssée Race in the Alps.
Source: Dr. Tim Hunt