Iditarod: Dog that died in plane may have overheated

Necropsy reports indicate that hyperthermia — overheating — caused the death of a dog that died Friday night while being flown from Galena to Anchorage with 74 other dropped dogs.

Smoke was a 2-year-old from the team of veteran musher Scott Smith, who dropped the dog at Manley Hot Springs on Tuesday. Smoke had a wrist injury, according to race reports.

In a written statement released Saturday night, race officials said the necropsy findings "were consistent with hyperthermia, although further testing will be conducted to complete the study."

"The sequence of events that contributed to the warm temperature within the aircraft are being reviewed," the statement said.

Smoke was the second dog to die in the race. Necropsy findings on Deacon, a 2-year-old from Seth Barnes' team, have not been released. Deacon collapsed and died Thursday just outside the Galena checkpoint, race officials said.

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