Injured sled dog flown to Seattle

ANCHORAGE — Lance Mackey's dog Zorro was being flown to Seattle on Sunday for a test on his spine after the Iditarod champion's sled was rear-ended by a snowmobile during the All Alaska Sweepstakes race.

"He at this point can't stand up or walk," said Tonya Mackey, Lance's wife, as the couple prepared to leave Nome early so that they could accompany the dog to Seattle. "They need to do some testing to see if he needs back surgery right away."

The nine-year-old dog is a key element in the Iditarod musher's recent phenomenal success. Mackey is the only musher to record back-to-back wins in the 1,100-mile Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race and the 1,150-mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. He did it first in 2007 and then again this year. Zorro is his foundation stud dog.

In Seattle, the dog will see a specialist and get an MRI, a test used to get a detailed image of the body. Tonya Mackey said there was a 50-50 chance that the dog will never walk again.

Denny Albert, lead veterinarian for the All Alaska Sweepstakes, said more tests are needed.

"At this point, I would say that we are cautiously optimistic about his outcome. It really depends on what they find on the MRI," she said. "We are crossing our fingers."

Mackey finished third in the 408-mile All Alaska Sweepstakes, being run on its 100th anniversary.

Former Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey won the $100,000 winner-take-all race on Friday.

Mackey was in third place around midnight Friday and closing in on the finish line when two snowmobiles came up fast behind his team. Mackey said he shone his headlamp right in the face of the snowmobiler, but he kept coming.

Mackey jumped to the side. He found his sled 30 feet up the trail. The snowmobiles' runners had impaled his sled bag, where he was carrying Zorro. Several dogs received less serious injuries.

The driver who hit Mackey and his partner on the other machine helped the musher right his team, then continued on.

Mackey finished the race and did not know Zorro was severely injured. He got some rest and when he awoke he could see his favorite dog was in trouble and called the race veterinarian.

When Albert arrived, Zorro was lying on his side and "shocky," she said. He was given pain medication and fluids, which stabilized him enough for a flight to Anchorage, where tests determined he had suffered some sort of spinal trauma.

Zorro will see an animal neurologist in Seattle.

According to Lance Mackey's Web site, the dog has three broken ribs, internal bleeding and spinal injuries and "is not able to stand or use his back legs."