Vets Check Every Paw One Day Before Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon Start

22 veterinarians and vet techs combed through every paw of upward of 500 dogs at the South St. Louis County Fair Grounds in Proctor Saturday.

DULUTH, Minn.- Before watching the top-of-the-line canines takeoff for Sunday’s John Beargrease Sled Dog Marathon fans got a chance to see them get checkups before race day.

22 veterinarians and vet techs combed through every paw of upward of 500 dogs at the South St. Louis County Fair Grounds in Proctor Saturday.

Each dog’s exam results go into the vet’s book for reference as they check their condition along the 300 miles to Grand Portage Minnesota.

“Having a baseline is really, really important because it allows us to know that they’re handling the miles down the trail,” said Katie Neshek, Head Vet.

“And the biggest thing we’re looking for down the trail is how are they recovering? Are they going back to normal or back to that baseline with just a Very short amount of rest? How excited are they to continue running that sort of stuff,” she said.

According to Neshek, the trail conditions and snow are looking good.

Fans are welcome to send the teams off at Billy’s Bar in Duluth Sunday at 10 a.m.