Unfortunately, the race has become a race to the fastest finish. I remember the disrespect given to Norman Vaughn when he was barred from the race for going to slow. "He loved to visit the great Alaskan people along the way" I would like to see more focus on the care of dogs, the respect for the dogs before the race, during the race, and after the race then the mushers themselves. The musher who cares for their dogs the best should also win a cash prize in this race as well as an award. Unfortunately, the way the dogs are treated within this race may amount to criminal animal abuse. The treatment of the dropped dogs, their temporary housing, transportation to staging areas, and temporary handling needs improvement. We don't want to make it to restrictive to volunteer however mandatory training and certification should be a requirement. The dogs in my opinion are the greatest part of this race and deserve the proper care, proper love, proper recognition, and proper respect.