May 19, 2007 2 min read

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Iditarod musher Ramy Brooks was suspended for two years and placed on three years of probation Friday for abusing his dogs. The eight-member Iditarod Trail committee board of directors voted unanimously on the sanctions.

The 38-year-old Brooks was disqualified in March from the 1,100-mile race after witnesses said they saw him punch and kick some of his dogs and hit them with a ski pole when they refused to leave a checkpoint during a March 13 stage in Golovin, less than 100 miles from the finish in Nome.

Brooks has admitted to “spanking” his dogs with a wooden trail marker.

Race officials were left to sort out the different accounts of the incident and to decide if more severe punishment was warranted. The board hired an Anchorage law firm to conduct the investigation.

One of Brooks’ dogs died the day after the incident. Race officials said there was no evidence that Brooks was to blame.

Stan Hooley, executive director of the Iditarod Trail Committee said Friday that Brooks’ candor went a long way with the board and how they weighed witness accounts that painted a more serious picture of what occurred.

“We must and we will make sure no abuse is tolerated as part of this event,” Hooley said. “Whether Brooks actually hit and kicked his dogs is still a matter of debate, and the two-year suspension was doled out for what Brooks admitted to – striking his dogs with a wooden trail marker.”