BUSINESS
Wallowa County Chieftain
A6
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
Double Arrow pitches in for sled dogs’ health
BIZZ
BUZZ
DOUBLE ARROW VETERINARY CLINIC
Who: Drs. Randy Greenshields, Dave Schaefer, Brooke Greenshields
Where: 66260 Lewiston Highway, Enterprise
Phone: 541-426-4470
Email: doublearrowvet@gmail.com
Online: www.doublearrowvet.com
Hours: Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. Emergency services 24/7
By Bill Bradshaw
Veterinarians
check out ‘premier
athletes’
event was canceled because of the
COVID-19 pandemic, the ECX has
been happening since 2005.
E
NTERPRISE — Physi-
cal fi tness checks for the
athletes competing in this
week’s Eagle Cap Extreme Sled
Dog Race are among the most
important prerace events going on
Wednesday, Jan. 19.
Dr. Randy Greenshields, of
Double Arrow Veterinary Clinic in
Enterprise, compared the dogs pull-
ing the sleds to Olympic athletes.
“They’re premier athletes,”
the ECX president said Jan. 12.
“They’re marathon runners.”
The checks
The vet checks will happen in
Enterprise on Main Street at 9 a.m.
and in Joseph on Main Street at
1 p.m.
Mushers must bring their dog
teams to one vet check or the other,
Greenshields said.
“We try to spread it out. It’s part
of a big community event,” he said.
“We try to get people out to see the
mushers and the dogs.”
Greenshields said the checks
are to help make sure the dogs are
healthy enough to participate in one
of the four grueling races.
In addition to making sure the
dogs have no obvious injuries, there
are other things the veterinarians
will examine them for.
“We make sure they’re in good
body condition, check their vac-
cination status and their fi tness to
race,” he said.
Their appearance can tell a vet if
the dogs have been well fed.
The vets
Wallowa County Chieftain, File
Enterprise veterinarian Randy Greenshields examines the dogs of Utah
musher Dee Ogden during the 2011 Eagle Cap Extreme Sled Dog Race
vet check on Main Street in Joseph. Vet checks for this year’s race will take
place Wednesday, Jan. 19, 2022, in Enterprise and Joseph.
“If they’re too skinny or too
fat, we don’t want them running,”
Greenshields said.
The doctor said that if a dog —
or a team — doesn’t pass the check,
the vets can make the call to dis-
qualify them. He said disqualifi ca-
tion is rare.
“We have the power to do that,
but we usually talk to the mush-
ers and urge them to get the proper
care for their dogs and they’re
usually willing to do so,” Green-
shields said. “It just goes to show
how much these mushers care for
their dogs and want what’s best for
them.”
Dogs and mushers
The primary breeds that run as
sled dogs include Alaskan husky
mixes, Siberian huskies and Mal-
amutes, although others do com-
pete. Pulling a sled in a race over a
snowpacked trail comes as second
nature to them, Greenshields said.
“They’ve got a lot of natu-
ral instincts for pulling,” he said.
“They’ve been bred for years for
this.”
Greenshields said there were 22
teams signed up as of Jan. 12. That
means more than 200 dogs that run
in teams of six to 12. He said the
longer the race they compete in, the
more dogs in a team.
He emphasized that sled dogs
are like family members to the
mushers.
“There’s a lot goes into prepar-
ing these dogs, feeding and training
to where they can run these races,”
he said.
The races
The races start and fi nish at
Ferguson Ridge Ski Area east
of Joseph. Start time is noon on
Jan. 20.
The 200-mile race is considered
a qualifi er for the Iditarod and the
Yukon Quest races, both 1,000-mile
competitions in Alaska. There’s
also a 100-mile race. Additionally,
there is a two-day 31-mile race, and
a two-day 22-mile juniors’ race for
14- to 17-year-olds.
“That’s to get younger racers
into it,” Greenshields said.
Other than last year, when the
Greenshields said he started that
year as a trail vet.
“It kind of molded me onto
the board of directors,” he said.
“I’ve been the president the last 12
years.”
He won’t be alone tending to the
dogs’ needs.
“We’ve got a whole team of vets
who come in for this,” he said.
Randy’s daughter, Brooke
Greenshields, went to work at Dou-
ble Arrow in June 2020 — the
spring before the ECX was can-
celed. This will be her fi rst year as
a full-fl edged veterinarian at the
event, although she has helped as a
volunteer while in high school and
college, Randy said.
In addition to the two Green-
shields, volunteers from outside the
area come in to help.
The head veterinarian, Dr. Kath-
leen McGill, of Bend, is expected,
as is Dr. Kimberly McCready, of
Wilsonville. Both have served as
veterinarians at the Iditarod and
Yukon Quest.
“We’re working on one or two
others,” Randy Greenshields said.
His partner at Double Arrow, Dr.
Dave Schaefer, will largely hold
down the fort at the clinic, but also
will be available if needed.
Community connection
Greenshields admits that giv-
ing his professional time to the
ECX takes away from his work at
the clinic.
“We’re short veterinarians when
we’re out doing the race,” he said.
“We donate a lot to the community,
and this is just one way we fi gure
we’re just giving back to the com-
munity. ... (Though) my partner
might say otherwise. I’m out play-
ing with dogs, and he’s stuck hold-
ing down the fort.”
But they both believe it’s
worthwhile.
“I think it’s important to be
involved in the community to
bring cool experiences and com-
munity events,” Greenshields said.
“We have well over 100 volunteers
to help out with race. It’s a great
experience to work with so many
diverse people.”
Those volunteers include regu-
lars who come out for every ECX,
as well as youths in high school and
FFA.
Greenshields urges people to
come out to see the dogs at the vet
checks and to watch the race. The
mushers’ progress can be moni-
tored at Race Central at the Clover-
leaf Hall or online on at the ECX
website, www.eaglecapextreme.
com.
He said the race start is particu-
larly fun.
“It’s real pandemonium. Dogs
are so excited, jumping around and
barking,” he said. “It’s pretty wild.
These dogs love their job.”
———
Bill Bradshaw is a reporter for
the Wallowa County Chieftain.
Have a business tip? Contact him at
541-398-5503 or bbradshaw@wal-
lowa.com.
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Grace Lutheran
Church
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409 West Main - Enterprise
10 AM Worship
Online AND In Person
SUNDAY
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541-426-3439
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Presbyterian Church
Summit Church
Discussion Group 9:30 AM
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at the Cloverleaf Hall in Enterprise
Childrens program during service
Blog: dancingforth.blogspot.com
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