'Iditarod Trail Sled Dog' race: 3 mushers shelter canines in winter storm, get penalised  

For sheltering dogs in harsh conditions, three mushers, who were taking part in this year’s Iditarod Trail Sled Dog race, have been punished, said a report.

In the last stretch of the race, a fierce winter storm was witnessed, which forced six mushers to quit the same day.

In a storm with strong winds, Michelle Phillips of Canada, Mille Porsild of Denmark and Riley Dyche of Fairbanks have been penalised for taking dogs inside shelter cabins instead of leaving them outside, the Anchorage Daily News reported on Friday.

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They chose to bring them inside to ride out the storm as the winds have whipped up white-out conditions.

Race marshal Mark Nordman decided to punish the mushers. He claimed the indoor rest for the dogs had amounted to a competitive advantage over other teams that trailed them into Nome.

“No doubt that Michelle and Mille did the right thing for their dogs. But it also affected the competition for racers going forward,” Nordman said.

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Porsild was dropped from 14th to 17th position, while Phillips had to move back one notch to 18th.

In the standings, Dyche was not demoted, but was fined $1,000 as officials determined there were no other mushers close to him, whowould have been affected by the dogs resting inside.

“Stopping and having the dogs in the shelter cabin gave Michelle and I no competition edge. On the contrary: we both lost the edge we had – especially me and my team,” Porsild wrote to the Daily News from Denmark.

(With inputs from agencies)