10.0°

If there's one truth to tragedies, it's that they bring people together, as Jon Little, of Kasilof, was reminded of this past Sunday as he experienced every musher's worst nightmare when his dog team was struck by a vehicle.

"It was comforting that people stopped, and it was people I knew, acting together. Someone went and got my dog truck, someone got my dogs home, someone got me home -- it was a huge help in that moment," he said.

Little, despite maintaining a kennel of only 24 racers, is a five-time Iditarod finisher whose best finish is fourth, accomplished in 2002. He also competed in the Yukon Quest in 2005 and finished fifth as a rookie. He's faced numerous challenges and hardships while running these 1,000 mile ultra-marathons, but this accident is tougher than any he has seen on a race trail.

As to how it happened, Little pointed no finger in blame. Rather, he said the incident was a string of small things that accumulated into a perfect storm.

He had just returned from an eight-day family reunion in the Lower 48, and the dogs had only run once while he was gone, so they were eager to stretch their legs.

"The temperatures had also cooled off while we were gone, which always energizes the dogs," he said.

Little took out a four-wheeler pulled by 13 dogs, and was followed by another four-wheeler pulled by 12 dogs, being driven by Mike Barnett, a friend and past handler of Little's from the winter of 2006-07. It was getting dark as they neared the tail-end of an 8-mile run, and to finish up they needed to cross the Sterling Highway near it's intersection with Kalifornsky Beach Road -- a busy location, but one Little had safely driven dog teams over for more than 10 years.

"I got across and then signalled to Mike to hold up because there was a lot of traffic," Little said.

Barnett said he got the dogs stopped, briefly jumped off to deal with a tangle, then hopped back on the wheeler and began to wait for several minutes as a stream of continuous vehicles came through. However, as the dogs got their wind while on the break, they got their legs under them too, and started pulling against the four-wheeler's brakes, which after several training seasons were not as new as they once were.

"They started pulling me, further and further. Jon was waving to stop and I was riding the brakes, but they got into the road," Barnett said.

"I saw the car and saw the dog and knew something bad was going to happen," Little said.

Six dogs -- all lead dogs or leaders in training -- were struck by a southbound 2007 Subaru Outback driven by Richard Abboud of Homer.

"I was probably doing 60 miles an hour and looked up and there was a dog team crossing the road. I didn't have time to think about anything before I was already over them," Abboud said.

Of the six that were hit, one dog miraculously sustained no injuries, but three others were killed instantly. These dogs were Belfast, a 5-year-old female and an Iditarod veteran, Breaburn, a 4-year-old female that, while leased out, finished the Iditarod on Jeff King's second-place team in 2008 and on Zack Steer's third-place team in 2007, and Nike, a 4-year-old male and another Iditarod veteran.

Two other dogs were hit and sustained injuries, but did not die at the scene. One was Handel, a 9-year-old female in semi-retirement that had eight 1,000 mile races to her name, including leading portions of the Iditarod last season while leased to Joe Runyan. Unfortunately, Handel had to be euthanized on Tuesday due to the extent of her internal injuries.

Wolf, a 3-year-old male, was also hit, but his tug-line snapped during the accident and he ran away frightened. After an exhaustive search, Little got him back on Wednesday morning.

"He came back overnight. He was curled up on some straw and had tipped a food bucket over and ate some," Little said.

However, Wolf was only using three legs, so Little rushed him to the Kenai Veterinary Hospital where X-rays revealed he had no broken bones, but had "a major ankle dislocation." Wolf was then taken to an orthopedic specialist in Anchorage for further diagnosis to determine the extent of surgery needed, and determine if he will ever run again.

Little said he is thankful to have Wolf back, but his injuries and the personal impact of loosing his other canine companions has taken an heavy toll on his psyche and his soul.

"It's a really emotional time, but I need to get back in the saddle for my sake and their sake," he said.

Prior to this incident, Little had signed up for the Yukon Quest again this season, but he said this accident will undeniably have an effect on his future.

"I'm going to keep going forward because I believe in not quitting, but obviously my season has changed so we'll see what happens. It not easy to replace dogs that can finish 1,000 mile races, especially 4- to 5-year-olds, dogs in their prime," he said.

Barnett said he was also depressed as a result of the accident.

"It was rough, really rough. Loosing a dog is a huge thing, especially knowing what they mean to Jon, but I've known all these dogs for years, so it's really sad for me too. Handel was one of my favorites," he said.

Abboud said he was also struggling with the situation.

"It's troubling, but I'm glad there were no people injured or killed," he said.

While it would be difficult for most mushers to find something positive about the death of five dogs, Little said he also hopes some good will come out of this incident.

"It's a tragedy, but the dogs' deaths won't be in vain if this increases awareness about that intersection," he said, adding maybe it needs a flashing light, like the one in Ninilchik, warning people to slow down -- for pedestrians, motorists and mushers crossing the highway.

As a result of still mounting veterinary expenses related to this accident, Little is welcoming an financial support people would like to make toward Wolf's recovery. Checks can be mailed to Kasilof Kennel, P.O. Box 691, Kasilof, AK 99610. Donations can also be made through the sponsor page of Little's Web site at http://kasilofkennel.bravehost.com/.

Joseph Robertia can be reached at joseph.robertia@peninsulaclarion.com.