Stu Nelson, longtime head veterinarian for Iditarod, dies in Idaho

The longtime head veterinarian for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, Dr. Stuart Nelson Jr., died earlier this week in Idaho.

News of Nelson’s passing was made public Thursday by the Iditarod Trail Committee, the race’s governing body.

“His deep love for Alaska and the outdoors, along with his enthusiasm working with sled dogs and researching animal athletes, shaped a career that perfectly aligned with his passions,” the committee wrote in a message posted widely online.

The statement did not include any information about how Nelson died.

In the hours after the announcement was posted to the Iditarod’s official Facebook page, dozens of messages poured in from race veterans, mushers and fans who knew Nelson from his 38 years of involvement with the event.

“Stu did so much for the Iditarod and sled dogs,” commented Alaska musher Jessica Klejka.

“I am so sorry to hear about this, he has done so much for the race and for the dogs. And was such a great guy. That’s going to leave a huge hole in the race,” wrote Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the thousand-mile race.

For decades, Nelson was a fixture at the Iditarod, both in person and behind the scenes. He began working with the race in the mid-1980s after seeing an ad in a veterinary magazine seeking volunteers. In his role as the head veterinarian, he was in charge of developing and overseeing protocols to ensure dog health in an endurance race across extremely challenging terrain. He was a regular presence at checkpoints up and down the trail, often on hand in remote dog lots watching other vets inspect resting dogs and answering questions from mushers about what they were observing among their animals.

“I know that we all die, that our creator has given us this opportunity to all be here, that we must be the best stewards of our animal athletes that we can possibly be,” Nelson said in a 2019 interview in Nome as part of a documentary project, “Faces of Iditarod.”

The son of a veterinarian, Nelson grew up in Missouri, and for the last several decades he lived in northern Idaho, a few miles from the Canadian border, where he operated an animal hospital. According to a 2015 interview in Sandpoint Magazine, a local publication, Nelson was also an avid outdoor explorer, taking annual solo trips to float remote rivers in Canada’s far north. In 2010 his kayak, gear, and food were swept away, and Nelson kept himself alive for 13 days with just the supplies he had in his pockets until he encountered a group of Swiss canoeists, according to the interview. He survived largely on foraged rose hips and raw fish caught in the river.

Nelson was also a spokesperson about mushing standards for canine health and well-being, work the Iditarod has stepped up over recent years to try combating criticism and boycott campaigns from animal rights groups. Nelson saw one of his primary roles as being an educator for other veterinarians and dog enthusiasts.

“The animal rights people can be pretty tough on us at times, but the point is that I have been proactive promoting research studies addressing the major health concerns and as a result of what we have learned, we have been able to attain years where we have not lost any dogs,” Nelson told interviewer Susan Drinkard of Sandpoint.

“Dr. Stu was the epitome of kindness, caring, compassion — not just for canine athletes but humankind as well,” wrote Nome Mayor John Handeland, who serves on the ITC’s board of directors. “This is hard to take. Dr. Nelson will long be remembered, and missed. His hands-on involvement with the Iditarod will be hard to replace.”

No public funeral or memorial service has yet been announced.