Mouth to Snout to Finish Line – The Best Iditarod Story Ever.
The Iditarod sled dog race is officially over. The last musher reached Nome in the wee hours of this morning, and got the traditional “red lantern award.”
There are always great Iditarod stories, but this year had one of the best ever. Was it Dallas Seavey being the youngest winner ever? Pfft. No. Martin and Rohn Buser – father and son – crossing in a photo finish? Nice, but nuh-uh.
The best story belonged to the 39th place finisher Scott Janssen, better known to all as the “mushing mortician.” Here is his bio:
Scott Janssen, the “Mushing Mortician,” 50, was born and raised in Crookston, Minnesota. He graduated from the University of Minnesota with a B.S. degree with a major in Mortuary Science in 1985 and moved to Alaska in June of that year to work as a mortician at Evergreen Memorial Chapel. He has been a mortician and funeral home owner for the last 26 years. Scott has been a friend and sponsor of Paul Gebhardt for 13 years and began mushing in 2007. He says “Iditarod has been his dream since 1986.” He and his wife of thirty years, Debbie, are the parents of two adult daughters, Angela and Chelsea. Scott is a member of the National Funeral Directors Association, the ICCFA and Kiwanis. He says he enjoys camping, skiing, hunting, fishing, and “riding my Harley.”
The story of the year involves one of Janssen’s dogs, Marshall. During an activity known as “dipping” in which dogs dip their heads down and refresh themselves by eating snow on the run. It seems that Marshall dipped in the wrong place and packed his snout with snow. Janssen saw Marshall fall, and knew something was terribly wrong. Enjoy the audio from NPR that tells the whole amazing story. Have a hanky at the ready.
The story comes right after the one about the green beer, or you can click HERE and follow the link to the story.
Transcript:
RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:
Now, to another dramatic story of survival in the wilderness – this one from the Iditarod dog sled race in Alaska, which is in its final stages. Our friends at the NPR podcast How to Do Everything asked musher Scott Janssen to describe what happened when he and his dogs were slogging through a snowstorm. It seems that sled dogs typically do something called dipping, meaning they dip their snouts into the snow for a quick refresher during the race.
SCOTT JANSSEN: And one of my dogs, Marshall, he was dipping into the snow and he must have packed his snout with snow when he did that. And all of the sudden Marshall fell over. And he hit, boom. And I was able to snag a little piece of bush to stop the sled immediately. And I lifted him up by his harness and he fell again. And then I knew. And, you know, when I looked in his eyes, he was dead. And I’m an undertaker, I know death. So, I started, you know, I screamed out his name and I put my mouth over his nose and I pulled back in to try to get anything out of his nose out, and I spit that out and I started breathing into his nose and at the same time giving him chest compressions. And I did that for five or 10 minutes and I remember so vividly my tears dripping down on his snout as I just looked up at the sky. And I said please, God, please, let him come back. I did one more chest compression and he coughed back out. I mean, right into my mouth. You know, it might sound disgusting for people but it was the most joyous sensation ever, and he started breathing. And he was looking at me but he couldn’t lift his head off the snow. And I laid there in the snow next to him. And so, I got Marshall and the sled bag, and I said, hey, guys, we got to get Marshall to the doctor. We got to rock. And we took off down that mountain, and we’re going, weaving in and out of the trees. As I came into Rohn, I was yelling for the vets and they started working on him. But I couldn’t go in with him because I had, you know, 15 other dogs that I needed to take care of. And in the meantime, I snacked all the dogs and while the food was soaking in the hot water, I went in to check on Marshall. And I’ll tell you, I was probably at one of the lowest points of my life. And I walked in the checkpoint and Marshall’s laying on the floor. They had an IV into his arm. And Marshall looked at me and jumped up on his feet and started wagging his tail. And I went up and I sat down next to him and hugged him and that’s when the vet said, you know, he’s going to be OK.
MARTIN: Iditarod musher Scott Janssen told his story to Ian Chillag of the NPR podcast How to Do Everything. Marshall the sled dog is now resting comfortably in Anchorage.
I could not get out of my car listening on the radio till I found out if Marshall was going to be alright. glenda post rn cen
Good story with a happy ending. Thanks for sharing it.
Thank you for that! I have seen my dad do that very thing to puppies…! As a kid, I thought he was an angel………or, a magician, and I never tired of seeing him heal animals.
This lovely man saw beyond a dog that most people would have not bothered with……….HE DID NOT GIVE UP ON HIM….and THAT is inspiring!
Blowing my nose..smiling for the story of what love ..helps us do..in a crisis. Also..when one we cherish..has ..Walked On..we shoulder-up..we are all..in harness..in the Family.
Awesome! I just got here from Bill Hess’s Logbook blog where he told the story of learning that his much loved cat Pistol-Yero has just passed away. He’s in India now so had to hear the news long distance. I’ve been sobbing my eyes out after reading that, and then after drying out a bit, I come here & started crying again – but for happy, happy reasons. Thanks for sharing this wonderful heart warming story AKM! Much appreciated.
I didn’t listen to it, but read it instead, in a feeble attempt at not crying like a baby first thing in the morning.
You just know those other dogs knew how important it was to get their buddy Marshall to the vet. They can sense our emotions. What a story.
Thanks for this wonderful story, AKM. (Sniffle, Sniffle!)
I cried, and then instantly fell in love with this man (even if he does smell of formaldehyde). I hope we get an update when the two are reunited.
I was so wrapped up in my runt and misfit gang that I did not hear this story! It’s a dream!
Scott Janssen also donated $3,000 to Iditarod so there would be a prize for the First Musher to the Yukon (in previous years, the Millennium Hotel sponsored the prize – $3500 plus a 7-course meal cooked on a camp stove at the checkpoint, but they pulled out just before the race this year).
And he also made a point of visiting schools at various checkpoints and making donations to them as a way of giving back to the villages who give so much to the race and the mushers.
Although this was just Scott’s 2nd Iditarod, he certainly embodies the spirit of the race!
I heard about it before, but you aren’t kidding about the hanky! *sniff.*
Thanks for posting the story. The tears immediately came to my eyes as I can just imagine how that felt.
So glad Marshall is doing OK. So glad Scott had a good race overall and yes it is one of the best stories of the race!!
Color me stupid, but why would snow up the nose be a problem other than uncomfortable, or did it go in the mouth and block the airway?
Please bear in mind that I live in the desert and am mostly ignorant of snow hazards. It is a wonderful story of the love of a man for his dog. Bless him.
My understanding was that the snow was impacted in nose and mouth, and impeded the dog’s breathing. The airway via the nose was probably easier to clear out than the mouth, I would think. Someone feel free to correct me if I’m wrong, but that’s how I heard it.
Wow! That makes sense. That’s hard for me to even comprehend, but thank you for answering. I totally understand his devastation when he thought the dog died.
Best story ever! Thanks for posting. I hadn’t heard it.
That was lovely. I’m glad I followed the link; I don’t care how they dye the river. I remember watching the movie The Fugitive, and cracking up when someone asked someone else why they don’t dye it blue the rest of the year.
The best is the last line, about Marshall resting comfortably in Anchorage. Hear, hear!
Nothing like a wonderful dog story to bring tears to my eyes- especially one with a happy ending.
I loved this story when I first heard it. I love it more hearing it again.
Go Marshall!
Go Scott!
Me also. Loved it the first time around. And good to hear it again. A dramatic story with a happy ending.