Novice musher loses 2 dogs in Iditarod

ANCHORAGE, Alaska, March 17 (UPI) -- Alaskan investigators were trying to determine Tuesday what killed two dogs belonging to a novice musher who was pulled from the Iditarod trail by air.

Dr. Lou Packer of Wasilla was reached by a rescue team Monday after his wife became worried, The Anchorage Daily News reported. Ellen Packer said that GPS tracking showed her husband was going so slowly that she knew he had to be walking in front of his dog team to guide them in rough weather.

The rescuers discovered Packer, 13 live dogs and two dead ones in the empty Innoko River area about 22 miles north of Iditarod, now a ghost town. He abandoned the race and was airlifted to Unalakleet.

The Iditarod Trail Committee said in a news release that pathologists examined the dogs, 5-year-old males named Dizzy and Grasshopper, and found no immediate cause of death. The carcasses were to be put through further testing.

Packer, 55, a native Californian, moved to Alaska 22 years ago. He only took up training dogs seriously in 2006.