There's A Tale Behind Name Of Every Dog In Iditarod Race

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Iditarod veteran Bill Cotter figures his sled dogs are athletes, so it's not a real stretch to name them after others populating the world of sports.

The Nenana musher is especially partial to basketball players. One of his lead dogs is Alonzo, as in Mourning. There's also a fleet little husky in his team named Muggsy Bogues. Some years back he had canine namesakes of the entire Boston Celtics starting five.

Ever have a Jordan or a Pippen?

"No, I never had dogs that good, I guess," Cotter said. "But I did have a Rodman."

Why Rodman?

"He was a troublemaker - I traded him."

Hundreds of sled dogs are participating in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Each has a name and behind each of those names lies a tale.

Mushers typically use name themes to distinguish their litters.

Tornado, Typhoon, Hurricane and Hail.

Memphis, Fargo and Vegas.

Sam McGee, Dan McGrew and Lady Lou.

"Themes help us group the dogs and remember where they came from," said Judy Currier of Wasilla, an Iditarod rookie whose kennel includes the last trio, all of whom are characters in Robert Service poems.

The themes span a seemingly limitless range.

Among the litters of Willow musher Linwood Fiedler over the years have been candy bars - Payday, Hershey and Goodbar - and car tires - Cooper, Michelin and Dunlop.

Lynda Plettner of Big Lake said she once bought a dog named Jesus, but that name went away shortly afterward when she and her

handlers lost the animal in downtown Anchorage.

"We all felt like fools running around Fourth Avenue, yelling `Jesus! Jesus!"'

That dog's now known as Jesse.