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Iditarod musher withdrawn from race after losing a dog

A lost dog has caused a Canadian musher to withdraw from the Iditarod race.

A lost dog has caused a Canadian musher to withdraw from the Iditarod race.

Canadian musher Gerry Willomitzer was withdrawn from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race after losing one of his dogs before the halfway point. The dog got loose about 25 miles before the halfway point, and race officials say he waited 36 hours while searching for the dog before learning it had been found.

Willomitzer assumed the dog would would be taken to Shageluk, the next checkpoint in the race. However, the dog was taken elsewhere and Willomitzer arrived at the checkpoint without the sufficient number of dogs. Iditarod rules require that a musher arrive at checkpoints with as many dogs as they had at the previous checkpoint.