North Dakota vet to travel to Alaska for the Iditarod

CASSELTON, N.D. (KFYR) - Casselton veterinarian John Reichert will depart on March 1 for his 22nd trip to Alaska for the Iditarod sled dog race.

Combining his love of veterinary work, and his childhood admiration of sled dogs, Reichert will be one of two dozen volunteer vets at checkpoints along the grueling 1,000-mile race.

“What got me to want to go, I guess, is that sled dogs are really incredible athletes. The mushers kind of get a lot of the credit for the serum run of 1925, but without the sled dogs, they’re kind of unsung heroes,” said Reichert.

The race starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, Alaska, and while it is a 20-day event, Reichert says most teams finish in about 10 of those days. Reichert says like any other athlete, the training, dedication, and strength of the sled dogs is nothing short of amazing.

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