Hello friends,

2021 Rookie Of the Year, Chad Stoddard 

It’s almost time for the 2022 Iditarod and mushers are working hard to get ready. At this writing, 52 teams are signed up (11 teams have withdrawn). Some old favorites are coming back and there are 13 Rookies. A rule change for the 50th race is that “only mushers starting the Iditarod for the first time are eligible for the Rookie of the Year Award.” In the past, if a musher had started a race one year but didn’t finish and then signed up the next year, they were still considered rookies. Read the entire list of rules here.

As usual, my favorite rules are #37- #46 because they pertain to my K9 friends. Part of Rule #40 states that teams can microchip 24 dogs, but only 14 will start the race. Awoooooo! What a hard decision for the human on the team to make. Training runs, preparing drop bags, getting together mandatory gear, vet checks, AND choosing the right team – it’s a LOT of work gearing up for the Iditarod.

Do you have a question for Zuma? Email me at askzumadog@gmail.com

Tail wags,

Zuma