Investigators Say No Sign Of Cruelty In Kennel Of Former Iditarod Champ

NPR | By Camila Domonoske

Published November 2, 2017 at 5:11 PM EDT

Four-time and defending champion Dallas Seavey mushes during the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Anchorage, Alaska, on March 4. Seavey has faced recent accusations of doping, which he denies, and animal cruelty, which local officials say is not supported by evidence.

Officials in Alaska says they have investigated conditions at the kennel of four-time Iditarod winner Dallas Seavey, and found no signs of cruelty, as had been reported by an anonymous complaint.

Seavey made headlines last month when his dogs tested positive for a banned substance; Seavey has denied that he was doping and has withdrawn from the 2018 Iditarod dog sled race in protest.

After that story broke, PETA issued a statement asserting a "whistleblower" had sent the group evidence that a Seavey-owned kennel "allowed severely injured and ailing dogs to suffer—sometimes fatally—without veterinary care."

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough investigated the allegations. In a press statement reported by KTUU, a borough spokesman says authorities "closed the investigation after finding no evidence of any violation—no evidence of failure to provide humane animal care and no evidence of cruelty to animals."

"Alaska State Troopers also are separately investigating complaints against a kennel, but won't identify the musher," The Associated Press reports. "Borough officials and Seavey didn't immediately return messages Thursday."

Seavey came in second in this year's Iditarod (behind his father, Mitch Seavey).