Anchorage Daily News

Musher Ramy Brooks' great-uncle stood before the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race's board of directors Friday and made a plea on behalf of his nephew, who was disqualified from this year's race for hitting his dogs with a wooden trail marker.

"I want to live in a society where you get second chances," said Mike Carter of Anchorage. "Don't take him out for life on this thing. That would be the wrong thing to do."

Brooks, 38, of Healy was disqualified from the 1,100-mile race for resorting to striking his dogs when they didn't want to leave the checkpoint in Golovin, less than 100 miles from the finish.

To make matters worse, one of Brooks' dogs died between White Mountain and Safety, which is the last checkpoint before the finish in Nome. A necropsy could not determine why the dog died, but race officials said there was no evidence that Brooks was to blame.

The Iditarod board now is awaiting a report being prepared by its lawyers looking into more serious allegations that Brooks beat some of his dogs, kicked others and hit them with a ski pole in a rant March 13 that perhaps lasted 15 minutes.

Depending on what the investigation finds, the board has a range of options from doing nothing to banning Brooks for life.

Brooks comes from a family of renowned sprint mushers.

Brooks' grandmother, Vera, also addressed the board, her voice at times filling with emotion.

"Ramy's always been good with dogs. He's built his life on it. The family is devastated," she said.

Race officials are trying to sort out the difference between Brooks' account and what three people in Golovin have told them. The board requested an independent investigation, which is being done by the law firm of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP in Anchorage.

Board president Richard Burmeister released a statement Thursday that said efforts to conduct the investigation by phone have not been successful. Investigators are planning to travel to Golovin next week to conduct interviews, he said.

After the investigation is completed, the board will probably call a special meeting, Burmeister said.

Iditarod musher Aliy Zirkle of Two Rivers said she was confident Brooks would be treated fairly. She encouraged the board to keep in mind the image of the race.

"I want mushers to be proud to run this race," Zirkle said.

Later, she said it was important to allow the process to go forward and not take sides.

Iditarod champion Mitch Seavey of Seward agreed.

"Nobody should jump to conclusions about anything," said Seavey, who won in 2004. He said Brooks deserved to be disqualified for what he admitted to doing.

Shane Goosen of Wasilla, who has run the Iditarod three times, said race officials should have moved more quickly. Goosen said he was disqualified from the Open North American Championships in Fairbanks for violating a passing rule. Somehow his name got linked to dog abuse when the Brooks story broke, he said.

"It took three days to disqualify this guy," he said. "There went the credibility of the Iditarod right there -- it's gone."

Goosen said it was right that Brooks was disqualified from the Iditarod.

"There is no doubt in my mind that he beat his dogs," he said.

Bud Smyth, a former race marshal and Iditarod musher, criticized race officials for not moving more quickly to interview and tape record witnesses in Golovin.

"You have to get there. You have to sort their stories out," said Smyth, whose sons Cim and Ramey, also Iditarod mushers, addressed the board.

Going back now and trying to determine the truth has limited value, Smyth said.

Cim Smyth of Big Lake said while any kind of force should not be allowed on the Iditarod Trial, he doesn't know of many mushers who don't discipline their dogs during training.

"I don't think it is fair to scapegoat Brooks on this issue," he said.

Musher Perry Solmonson of Plain, Wa., choked back tears as he addressed the board. Three times he scratched from the Iditarod out of concern for his team, he said.

"It is just a sad situation," Solmonson said. "I hope as a board you will have some integrity and do what is necessary for the dogs."