Posted: March 17, 2009, 5 a.m. EDT
Nigel, the Iditarod Husky who bolted into the Alaska wilderness after his sled crashed about 200 miles into the grueling 1,100-mile Anchorage-to-Nome race, has been found.
The dog wandered into the Talvista Lodge near Skwenta, Alaska, on Friday, said Iditarod spokesman Chas St. George. Air searchers had been tracking the dog’s movements.
Nigel was quickly reunited with owner and first-time Iditarod competitor Nancy Yoshida.
“She was crying,” St. George said of Yoshida. “She was so excited. You could tell the two of them missed each other a lot.”
Nigel was well-hydrated and in very good condition for a dog who had been missing three days, St. George said.
Yoshida told the Anchorage Daily News that her dog “was pretty shook up” by the crash.
“Nancy fed him right away out there, and he’s continued to eat,” St. George said. “He’s doing fine.”