Meet the Dogfather, who has several pups racing in this year’s Iditarod

Raymie Redington, 75, has three children who have run the Iditarod, which is a pretty great track record. But his dog Bison, 8, definitely has him beat. Bison is one of Alaska’s most popular stud dogs, with litters of pups in at least 12 Iditarod mushers’ kennels, including those of three former champions. Several of his pups are running in this year’s race, Redington said. How did this dashingly handsome athlete — “all heart,” as Redington called him — become mushing’s most eligible bachelor? The answer is a combination of genes, timing, a sportwide trend toward traditionalism and a very agreeable stud. Bison, who got his name because he resembled a baby bison as a puppy, has an auspicious heritage: his paternal grandparents won the Iditarod with Jeff King, while his maternal grandfather won four times with Lance Mackey. But it wasn’t until Nic Petit started using Bison for races, and breeding to him, that lightning struck. His dogs were reliably eager, happy, friendly and great eaters, and other mushers took notice. Redington, whose own father helped found the Iditarod, is a lifelong student of sled dog genetics. “When I go back to all the (race) horses, there’s only a few horses that ever threw anything at all. Secretariat, they bred 450 times and never got anything worth it. That’s how it works. So I like a dog, I don’t breed to him. I breed to his dad.”...MORE