It can be said that mushers depend on their dogs as NASCAR drivers depend on their cars to do the real work in their respective races, but then anything can be said. The mushers don't have a pit crew or any other kind of help once the race begins in Willow; they're on their own facing 1,000 miles of physical misery - and smiling all the way. Sports broadcaster Howard Cosell once called NASCAR drivers the best athletes in the world; he was wrong.
Given all that, these dogs are very special creatures who love, and want nothing more than to be loved by, their mushers. Seeing the interaction between a musher and his or her dogs is, to say the least, heart warming - even if you don't particularly like dogs. They truly are heroes.
We'll get back to the race later this evening, but I thought you'd like to see some of these beautiful dogs up close. Click on the photos to make them larger.
