Fourth dog dies on Iditarod trail

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The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race was over for winner Lance Mackey and his team on Wednesday, but about 30 teams remain on the trail. Today the race claimed the life of a fourth canine competitor.

A 5-year-old sled dog named Maynard, a member of musher Warren Palfrey’s team, was about an hour from the race’s Nome, Alaska, finish line at the time of his death. A necropsy will be performed to try to determine the cause of death.

One dog from musher Jeff Holt’s team and two from musher Lou Packer’s team died earlier on the trail. No official causes of death have been determined, although Packer told the Anchorage Daily News that he believes the two dogs from his team froze to death as a result of high winds.

-- Lindsay Barnett