Iditarod veterinary technician Lynnette Perrine gets ready to administer trace amounts of drugs banned from the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race to some Kasilof sled dogs participating in a study sponsored by the race. Perrine later collected urine samples from the dogs, which were analyzed at two Oregon labs. Sled dogs Neptune, left, and Lew, right, watch Perrine work. (JOHN LITTLE / Anchorage Daily News)

Peninsula vet collects urine samples in effort to keep race clean

By JOHN LITTLE
Daily News Peninsula Bureau

EDITOR’S NOTE: Dogs used in the study came from Kasilof Kennel, owned by the author, who trains 26 racing huskies and plans to run his second Iditarod this year. Perrine said she chose Little’s dog yard because the dogs are typical racing dogs and weren’t on any medications or drug program that would have skewed test results. Little was paid to have his dogs analyzed.

KASILOF — Lynette Perrine spent the better part of three weeks watching dogs pee. It’s her job.

Perrine is a Homer veterinary technician working for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. She was part of a race-sponsored research project that required her to give trace amounts of banned substances to 20 drug-free sled dogs at a Kasilof dog yard and collect urine samples.

The urine was flown to Oregon, where two labs scanned it for tell-tale chemical residues of drugs that expand lung capacity, build muscles and cloak pain. With the results of this clinical trial in hand, Iditarod veterinary officials say they will be able to spot abuse by analyzing urine samples from trail dogs.

It’s only the second time the race has studied a group of dogs since testing began five years ago. Officials are checking for such drugs as androstenedione that have come onto the market in recent years. And the research gives officials the opportunity to try new techniques said to be a thousand times more sensitive in picking out stuff that shouldn’t be inside racing sled dogs.

The Iditarod has been a remarkably clean event over the years, race officials said, but testing is necessary in any sport where money and prestige are on the line.

‘‘Every major athletic event in the country, including the Olympics, has drug testing,’’ said Iditarod chief veterinarian Stu Nelson.

Perrine was a key link in the analysis, carefully giving low doses to the dog team that took part in the study, checking their heart rates and collecting urine samples every few hours.

‘‘Done like a dinner!’’ she would exclaim as one of the dogs squatted and filled a one-quart baggie with the pale yellow liquid. The baggies are held on by a stretchy, elastic material.

Perrine marked and sorted the samples. She gingerly poured small amounts into sterile jars lined up on the bumper of her vintage Jeep Cherokee. The sealed jars were packed into padlocked coolers and rushed to the airport.

She treated the urine like liquid gold.

And in a way, it was, said A. Morrie Craig, interim chair of biomedical sciences at University of Oregon. Craig works closely with Nelson and has organized the race’s drug testing program since it began in 1994.

Testing began after some front-runners raised the issue with race officials, Craig said. Racers were worried competitors might use illicit means for an advantage.

The race’s testing program involves a crew of two: a veterinarian and technician. They take samples of a third of the teams before the race start, a third more during the race and, finally, samples from all top-20 teams. But race officials won’t say where or when they’ll test during the race.

Historically, samples were measured against results from a group of sled dogs that were studied in 1995. But a lot has changed since then. More drugs are on the market and new techniques are available to test for them, Craig said.

Race officials say they’ve uncovered no serious abuse since drug testing began. The drug program costs the multimillion-dollar race about $15,000 a year. This year, officials expect to collect about 700 samples during a race that an estimated 1,300 dogs will start.

‘‘For all the many thousands of drug tests we’ve employed, we’ve yet to have anything greater than a false positive, which may come out of something that might have been fed to the dogs,’’ said Rick Koch, president of the Iditarod Trail Committee board of directors.

Traces of drugs used on farm animals that are processed into dog food can be detected in the urine of racing dogs, he said.

‘‘This program, taken with the EKGs we do, the blood studies we do on the dogs ... the vitamin E study, and now research into ulcers in some dogs, it really puts me and others in a very comfortable position to say this is what this race stands for — the health and well-being of the canine athletes really does come first,’’ Koch said.

Punishment for a positive test would be decided by the race board, Koch said, and could range from a fine to disqualification — even a lifetime ban.

Sometimes, officially banned substances, such as corticosteroids that can reduce inflammation, wind up as added ingredients in foot balms, unbeknownst to a musher.

‘‘If we found corticosteroids in a foot ointment, the fine or penalty might be substantially different than if there was some sort of high-powered stimulant,’’ Koch said.

An array of new drugs has come on the market in recent years, from anabolic steroids such as androstenedione — made famous by home-run king Mark McGwire — to homeopathic substances said to ease aches and pains.

Some of the compounds tested last fall are legal, but race officials still want to know how they show up in drug tests to avoid confusing them with illegal substances. And drug-testing technology has come a long way since 1995, Craig said.

Iditarod rules ban most drugs, except those that help the dogs stay healthy, such as anti-diarrheal medicines, zinc-oxide ointment and mild topical oils used to salve sore feet and wrists. Painkillers, even aspirin, are not allowed.

But Craig refuses to say which drugs were tested in November, mainly because the race couldn’t look at every drug on the market. A sensitive testing program should discourage cheating, he said.

Reporter and musher Jon Little finished 36th in last year’s Iditarod. He can be reached at jlittle@adn.com.