Hovland musher Dennis LaBoda raced to his third win in four years at the CopperDog 150 race held in Calumet, Michigan. Fellow musher Frank Moe, a neighbor of LaBoda’s, said this might be the most competitive field of sled dog racers gathered in one place in the lower ’48. Congratulations to Dennis on his fine win!
Hovland musher Dennis LaBoda did something no one else has done before. He became the first musher to win the CopperDog 150 for the third time.
Rita Wehseler from Tofte placed 8th and Frank Moe, LaBoda’s neighbor, finished 11th place.
The Calumet, Michigan race is 135 miles long and run in three stages and has a limit of 10 dogs per team. The event was held March 2-4 through Michigan’s forested Keweenaw Peninsula.
Dennis, who won in 2015 and 2016, has competed in all nine CopperDog races. His lead dogs are named Slinky and Yoga.
The race wasn’t without some drama. Early in the event, at about the 24-mile mark, as Frank Moe was going down a hill, he noticed a musher, second-place finisher Anny Malo, pulled over and looking at one of her dogs, Max, who was unconscious.
“I yelled at her and asked her if she needed help and Anny said yes,” said Moe. “It took me awhile to stop my team because of the momentum, but when we finally stopped I anchored the dogs and ran over to her and checked on her dog, who wasn’t breathing. I checked for a pulse and found he had a slight heartbeat.
“I think the dog had some snow or ice blocking his airway. I have some E.M.T. training, but I had never given CPR to a dog before. Because the dog’s airway was blocked I closed the dog’s mouth with one hand and blew in his nose once and checked and nothing happened. I blew into his nose three more times before he came around. He coughed up a little blood, but he seemed fine. Anny put him in her bag. About five minutes later she passed me, and the dog poked his head from the bag and looked at me.
“As for my race, my knee ached, and I had to put my biggest dog in the bag. Still, I had a good race, and I was happy with my year. Out of six races I had one first, two seconds and a third-place finish,” Moe said.
As for Frank’s knee, when he had it checked by a doctor, he found that he had a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and there was damage to his cartilage. He will need surgery and then time to recover before the next racing season.
For his assistance to the musher from Saint-Zenon, Quebec, Canada, Anny Malo and her dog Max, Frank was awarded the sportsmanship award. “I was glad I could help. At the end of the race, Max was fine. I think he will make a full recovery. As for Dennis, I’m really happy for him. He’s a great neighbor and friend. He had a great run, and I’m glad he won.”
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