Did you know that mushers have already signed up to run the 2010 Iditarod?  That is right!  As of today, 63 mushers have signed up.

While I was spending my summer days taking boat rides on the lake with my human and k9 friends, mushers were making their plans for the next racing season.

The mushers started to sign up last June.  You can see who has signed up by looking at the musher listing on the website.

Some of the mushers are veterans.  Some of the mushers are rookies.

A veteran is a musher who has completed at least one Iditarod.

A rookie is a musher who has not finished the race.  The rookie might be racing in Iditarod for the first time or the rookie could have been signed up before but for some reason, didn’t make it to Nome.

Not every rookie musher gets to Nome on the first try.

Getting to Nome and finishing the race is not easy.  Rookies and veterans train all year long and make lots of goals.  Their dogs don’t get to lounge around like me.  I am a reporter.  They are athletes.  I write.  They train.  I can’t wait to read all about them during the next several months.  On the first Saturday in March, the rookies and the veterans will have their 16 member dog team ready to leave the starting line in Anchorage, Alaska.  What an exciting race to Nome it will be!`

I hope you look at the musher listing.  Count the rookies.  Count the veterans.  Check back every month.  Keep watching the list of rookies and veterans to see how many of each will start this year’s race.

Be sure to check back at Zuma’s Paw Prints, too.  Zuma, Gypsy, Sanka, and I will be putting lots of stories on the website to help you learn more about the rookies, the veterans, and lots of other Iditarod information.

Just Spinning D’Tails!

Libby

PS.  In the picture, my fur friend, Wicket and I are shown enjoying a boat ride on a bright and sunny summer day.  I love summer boat rides!  They are almost as much fun as riding in a dogsled!

OH, and if you want to learn more about why some mushers don’t finish Iditarod,  read this article by Gypsy.  I know you’ll enjoy it.

We are 2nd graders from Charlotte, North Carolina.  We have been reading Akiak:  A Tale from the Iditarod. This story has taught us a lot about the Iditarod dog race.  In the story, Akiak, the dog, displays his courage by finishing the race with an injured paw.  We enjoyed the story and had a few questions for you.

Do you know of any dogs that have gotten injured during the race?  Were they able to finish?

How many days does it typically take to finish the race?

Zuma, what temperature is it typically during the race week?

Zuma, can you please share a little more information with us about the Husky breed?  Why do Huskies look like wolves? Also, why do some Huskies have blue eyes? Thank you for your time.

Your Montclaire Elementary Friends

Hello Boys and Girls,

Thanks for your questions!

When a musher’s team arrives at a checkpoint the team of veterinarians examines each of the dogs.  If there are any dogs that need to be dropped from the race, the veterinarians care for those dogs.  Those dogs are later flown back to Anchorage.    Sometimes a rest in a checkpoint is all a dog needs to be feeling great again.  Do you ever come in from recess all tired out but find out when the next recess rolls around you are ready to out and play again?  Or have you ever had an upset tummy and then after a nap, you feel better?  Well, it is sort of like that for some of the dogs.  Once a dog has been dropped from the race and left with the veterinarians at the checkpoint, though, that dog doesn’t get to get back in the Iditarod— at least that particular year.

The winner finishes the race in 9 – 10 days.  Mushers roll into Nome one after another until they are all there!  Usually most of the mushers finish by 14 days.

It is hard to talk about the typical weather because weather conditions are different from one part of the trail to the next part of the trail.  The conditions can be different one year from the next or from one checkpoint compared to three checkpoints up the trail.   It is best for you to visit our weather center at the website during the race and click on the temperatures at the different checkpoints.  You can also use the GPS Tracker to see the temperature each musher faces during the race.  We also have some really awesome weather activities and lessons at the website.  You can see those ideas at this section of the website by click here. Then click on the Iditarod Ready!  Storm Read! materials.

I could write a whole book about the Husky breed.  I’ll tell you one thing— they are a northern breed which means they have a suitable natural winter coat to keep them warm.  You can go to this part of the website and learn more about the dogs.  To read, click here. Click on What is a Sled Dog?  Our Chief Veterinarian wrote that article and it will help you learn a lot of important information.  Your teacher can read it and help you learn more.

As far as eye color, I’m not so sure so many have blue eyes.  You might be thinking of Siberian Huskies.  A good place for you to look is at the Race Images by photographer Jeff Schultz.  Go to www.iditarod.com and click ‘View All Images’.  You can also check out our Zuma Blog scrapbook.  On the left side of this page, click on the Scrapbook of Pictures.  Look at the pictures of the dogs on the website pages, too.  I think you see that most huskies don’t have blue eyes.  Have fun looking at the pictures.

Thanks for your questions.

Have a great week in school!  I hope you keep reading Zuma’s Paw Prints all summer long!

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma

Hello Boys and Girls!

Thanks for writing to me!  I hope you are having a great day in your school in Louisiana!  I looked on the map at where you live and see it is a long way from where I live!  I know that your climate is not the same as the climate in Alaska.  Have you compared the two places?

Thanks for following the race.  I hope to hear from you again next year!

I hope you take time to learn more about me and to learn about the other K9 Journalists.  You can find places to click to learn more on the left side of this page.  Click right where it says, Meet and Learn About the K9 Reporters.

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma

Dear Zuma,

We are writing to you from Franklinton, Louisiana. We are in Miss Haynes’ 2nd grade class. There are 24 of us students in her room. We are reading the story “Akiak: A Tale from the Iditarod” in our reading book at school. We found your website and decided to write and ask you some questions as journalists ourselves. Here we go:

1. Have you ever had frostbite? -Jayonne

I have not.  My fur coat keeps me warm.  I sometimes wear booties on my feet to keep the little bits of snow and ice from hurting my paws.  I stay safe and warm.

2. Who are your best friends? -Mackenzie

My best friends are Gypsy, Libby, and Sanka

3. How old are you, Zuma? -CJ

I am 5

4. When is your birthday? -Raquel

August 29

5. Have you ever had to be brave before? -Caitlyn

It takes bravery to set goals and work towards them, no matter what your goals may be, so considering that, I’m brave every day!  How about you?

6. What is your favorite chew toy? -Miguel

I like all of my chew toys but I guess I especially like my squeaky duck.  Oh, and then there is my squeaky fish….

7. Have you ever raced in the Iditarod? -Terion

I am not a racer.  I am a reporter.

8. When was your first Iditarod and did you win? -Emily

I do not race.  I will not race in the future.  I report and I type.  I love to read, too.

9. How can you type, Zuma? -Brady

Yes.  Have you seen my pictures on the website?  You can see me typing on my keyboard.

10. How cold is it where you live during Christmas? -Shantrell

OH I suppose 10 – 20 degrees or so….

11. Have you ever been trained to type? -Rajana

It took a lot of practice to learn to type.  I went to K9 Journalism school but learning to type just took practice but it works a lot better than holding a pencil between my paws!

12. How old were you whenever you started to type? -Colby

I started to type when I was a small pup, just like most humans start to write when they are in preschool or even before that!

13. Have you ever eaten with a spoon before? -Callie

OH, I’ve licked a spoon before, but my paws aren’t very good at holding spoons.

14. What is your favorite place? -Anfernee

My favorite place is where I am…   I think it is good advice to be happy no matter where you are at the moment.  So where I am at each moment is my favorite place.

15. Will you ever come to Louisiana, maybe Franklinton, where we live? -Mason

If I do come to Louisiana, I’ll let your teacher know!

16. What do you do for Easter? -Jazton

I take an extra doggie snooze.

17. Were you ever in dog school? -Elisabeth

I went to a puppy training class once and passed the class with straight A’s!

18. Are you braver when you are by yourself or when you are with somebody? -Declan

Being with a friend is always comforting, but knowing how to stand alone and be brave is important for all of us to be able to do!

19. Have you ever been trained for the Iditarod? -Leyton

I am not a racer.  I am a typer.  I am a reporter.  I haven’t done any sled dog training!

20. Where do you live? -Richard

I live in Wasilla.

21. Were you ever in a blizzard? -Camryn

I try to be in as many blizzards as I can.  I love the cold, the wind, and all of the falling snow!  I can’t wait for the next blizzard.  Of course, boys and girls, I am all dressed for winter weather and I know how to stay safe!

22. Have you ever had a dream you wanted to follow? -Trent

My dream is always to be the best reporter that I can be so I keep working hard!

23. What is your favorite fruit? Do you eat fruit? -Zaquarius

I try to stick to the food my vet recommends for me….  Once in a while I’ve had a bite of a banana. I have a K9 fur friend by the name of Holly.  Her human gives her bananas all of the time.

24. Have you ever been to a human school where children go to school? -Zahila

I sometimes get to visit students in school.  That is a lot of fun.

25. Do you travel all over the country talking and visiting with children in schools? -Miss Liz

I generally stay in Alaska.  If I am in your area, I’ll be sure to contact your teacher!  What fun it would be to visit!

Thank you for taking our questions. We hope to hear back from you soon! Have a good day!

Sincerely,

Miss Liz’s class

Hi Boys and Girls,

Do you remember by first community Challenge post?  It was about Mrs. Andrews class in Pelham NH.  This 3^rd grade class was making money for the Animal Rescue Network of New England (ARNNE)  by baking and selling yummy dog biscuits.  Well they had another sale the end of March.  This time they raised $185 for a total of $315 to be donated to ARNNE.  Isn’t that amazing.  GREAT JOB Mrs. Andrews class!!!!!

To see more about this project you can go to:

http://www.pelhamweb.org/pes/mrsandrews/bow_wow_biscuits.htm

The students in Mrs. Andrews asked if the could interview me.  I had never been interviewed before.  I’m always the one that does the interviewing!  You can see the interview at:

http://www.pelhamweb.org/pes/mrsandrews/new_page_5.htm

If you have a community project that you would like us to feature on the blog, just email us the information.  We’d love to feature your class.

Keep up the good work,

Gypsy

We here at Collingswood Middle School ( Grade 6) in New Jersey have been following the race and learning all about it.  My classmates and I enjoy seeing how our chosen mushers are doing. How exciting! I’ve learned about how the mushers have to carry the symbolic mailbags with them from Anchorage to Nome, and if they lose the bag they are disqualified.

My question to you is about the GPS systems that the mushers are wearing throughout the race. What happens if the musher loses their tracking device? Are they disqualified, like when they lose the mailbag?

Thanks for all the great updates! My 6th grade class is learning so much!

Your friend,
Cathyrn Maienza
Grade 6th
Collingswood Middle School

Hello Boys and Girls,

Thanks for writing to us.

The GPS Trackers are secured to the sled or put in the sled bag.  The musher isn’t disqualified if the tracker falls off or if it stops working.  If it falls off or breaks, the good folks at I on Earth who run the tracker system, try and fix it or get a different one for the musher’s sled.

The mail bag you are talking about is not a bag, but it is a package with promotional materials or mail.  The mail cachet is part of the required gear a musher has to have in the sled bag.

Lots of Tail Wags, 

Zuma

We are a third grade class from Jupiter, Florida (like the planet).  We have just finished taking the FCAT and boy we are glad it is over!  The test took us three days (reading and mathematics) and we did our very best. We live 15 minutes from the beach and enjoy the warm weather year round.  If you would like to take a tropical vacation, Jupiter is the place.  We would love to visit with you.  Doesn’t a picnic at the beach and a dip in the refreshing ocean sound tempting?  We are always on vacation in Florida!

This is our first year tracking the Iditarod.  We have all picked a musher and are tracking them using a bar graph and line graph.  Each day we log on to see where our mushers are and what’s happening in the race.  We are excited about tracking our mushers and seeing what place we are in.  We can’t imagine how it must feel to be in cold weather and wear all those clothes.  We are wearing T-shirts and shorts today.  We have a few questions and if you have time we would like to hear from you.

Do you have any friends that are lead dogs and how do they feel about being in that position?

Have you ever been sick and how did your human take care of you?

Do you have a favorite game to play with your family?

Do you have a favorite musher and why?

Have you ever worn booties and if so, do they really keep your paws warm and safe?

We looked at pictures of our mushers and we want to know why Sebastian Schnuelle’s hair looked so funny?

We look forward to hearing from you.

Mrs. Weese’s Third Grade Class

Hello Boys and Girls,

Thanks for writing!

Yes, I have many fur-friends who are lead dogs.  They are very proud to lead a team, but they also recognize that being a leader means that most of all, you are a team player.  When you lead, you are not always out front.  Sometimes you are running in other positions on the team.

When I get sick, my human takes me to the veterinarian.  I enjoy the visits with my vet and I try to follow the rules I’m given, like eating healthy dog-meals and staying away from human meals!  Seeing my vet is important!

My favorite games involve chasing or staying active kinds of games because my human gets as much exercise as I do.  I really like to go for long walks or slow jogs.

I really try to not have a favorite musher, you know, because I am a journalist but mostly because I enjoy meeting all of the mushers and all of their dogs!

I have worn booties.  Booties are not to keep dog’s feet warm, though.  They are to protect the pads from getting cuts or scrapes.  

Really?  You think Sebastian’s hair looks funny?  I never thought of it as funny, I just thought of it as Sebastian.  Like K-9’s, everyone has their own color and style.  Some of us have short hair, some of us long.  We wear our winter coat all the time.  Unlike humans, the K-9 don’t get to make personal choices about this.  I think, the choices humans make about their hair help us to be able to tell who is who! 

Thanks for your questions,

Lots of Tail Wags, 

Zuma

Hello Students!

A big shout out to you and your classmates!  

The northern lights are so beautiful.  I love to stand outside and watch them dance across the sky.  Sometimes you can almost hear them dance as their greens, yellows, reds, and blues mix and move across the sky.

Northern lights are hard to explain because they are very ’scientific’.  It has to do with pieces of charged particles of the earth’s magnetosphere crashing into to atoms and molecules of the earth’s upper atmosphere.  These particles become a trapped magnetic field of the solar wind.  Oxygen and nitrogen in the air determine if the particles are seen as green, red, blue, or violet.  The different gas in the atmosphere and the solar wind create the colors.  It is all so ’scientific’ but it results in a beautiful display of colors.  I hope you all get to see what I say is better than fireworks someday.

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma

Hi Boys and Girls,

We K9 reporters have received many emails and blog comments asking us what the difference is between a musher who has scratched or was withdrawn from the race.  This is an excellent question for the blog. 

When a musher scratches from the race, he or she makes the decision themselves.  The most common reason a musher scratches is for the best interest of the team.  This means a lot of things.  Sometimes, a musher is hurt or ill and they feel they cannot take care of their team properly. The team may be ill or not performing to the level needed to finish the race and the musher scratches.  The sled may have been damaged to the point that it is not useable and an extra sled is not available.  There’s just so many reasons a musher may have for not continuing the race. 

Withdrawn means the decision was made for the musher.  The decision is made by a 3 judge panel.  At least 2 of the judges must agree to the withdrawal.  This decision does not mean that the musher did anything wrong.  This year Rob Loveman was withdrawn from the race due to his team no longer being competitive.  He was in last place and far enough behind the others that he would not be able to catch up to them. 

There is one more way that a team would leave the trail and that is by disqualification.  This is more serious and rarely happens.  All 3 judges must agree that a musher should be disqualified. The chief Veterinarian may be consulted also if  cruel or inhumane treatment of the dogs is suspected.  Mushers can be disqualified for deliberately breaking the rules, cheating, or abuse of the dogs.  The musher is given the chance to present his case to the judges before a decision is made. 

Hope that helps.  Thanks for the great questions you have been asking this year.  We will be answering  the questions we are asked the most on the blog.  So keep reading and writing.

See you on the trail,

Gypsy  \\

My name is Ross, and I am a different kind of working dog.  I am in training to be a Canine Companions for Independence (www.cci.org) assistance dog. CCI provides dogs free of charge to people with disabilities other than blindness. I am 9 1/2 months old and go to CCI College (aka Advanced Training) in August.  Then we’ll have to see if I have The Right Stuff to be a CCI Graduate Dog!

I don’t think it’s as difficult as being a sled dog, or maybe it’s just difficult in a different way. At any rate, I’m sure I don’t have The Right Stuff to be a sled dog because I hate being cold. My puppy raiser even takes a small rug when we go to the movies because I hate lying on the cold floor and have a hard time settling down for a nap. She tells me I’m a little high maintenance and will have to get over that before I go to College.  Huh.

In the meantime I go to work with my puppy raiser at a TV station every day. I have my own DogBlog on our website (www.thedenverchannel.com/family).  Zuma, I would love to interview you for my DogBlog, if you’re not too busy. If that works out, I’ll send you some questions to answer.

Thanks!
Chow for now!

Ross
CCI ADIT

Hello Ross!  I’m so happy to meet you!  Send me your picture and I’ll post it here!  It will be fun to be interviewed by you!

Lots of Tail Wags,

Zuma

Hello.

This is Miss Evans class and we are writing to find out more about you and the Iditarod. We are in first grade. We are at Agnes Irwin School which is an all-girls private school. We are learning about the Iditarod.

Are you good reporting the Iditarod? How many of the lead dogs are females? Do you think any more people will scratch? How did Nancy Yoshida scratch?  Have you ever been at the start or finish line or have you been on the trail? How many dogs do you need to finish the race?

We hope you get your career started soon!

Please answer soon.

Love,

Miss Evans

Thank you so much for writing to me.  I am a VERY good reporter, haven’t you noticed?  Lead dogs can be males or females, but I think females make the best leaders.  I think so because I am a female and I know I am a great leader.  Besides, females are just sweet looking, don’t you agree?

It is always sad to see a musher scratch, but mushers make that decision for good reasons.  Nancy made that decision because Nigel ran off and he did not come back.  A musher can’t continue if they are missing a dog.  Silly Nigel!  (Did you see that cute coat he sometimes wears?  I think he is SO cute!  Howl!!!)

I have been to the start, to the restart, and a few places on the trail.  Traveling helps me learn and be able to write stories.  Thanks for your questions.  You’ve helped me… 

Spin some ‘de tales’.  Libby

Dear Libby,

We are sorry you did not make it as a show dog but we are sure you are going to be a great reporter.  Keep us updated on special things that are happening.  Your friends at Chapin Schoo.

Thanks students!  Even though I didn’t make it as a show dog, I am happy with my very important job.  Thanks for cheering me on!

Just spinning some ‘de-tales’,

Libby