Mar. 17—A dog died on veteran musher Mille Porsild’s team Tuesday during the Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race, race officials said.

The 4-year-old dog named Charley died en route to the Elim checkpoint, the race said in a prepared statement. No other dog deaths have been reporting during this year’s Iditarod.

Porsild, 53, was born in Denmark and now lives in Willow.

Race officials said the dog passed all prerace evaluations and veterinary testing. A necropsy will be conducted in Unalakleet by a board-certified veterinarian, according to the Iditarod.

Under the Iditarod’s Rule 42, in the event of a death of a dog on their team, a musher can either voluntarily scratch or be withdrawn by race officials. The rule carves out an exception if “the death was caused, as determined by the Race Marshal, to be due to the inherent risks of wilderness travel (example, moose encounter), nature of trail, or force beyond the control of the musher (these causes are all referred to as an ‘Unpreventable Hazard’).”

Race officials said Tuesday morning that they would release more information on Porsild’s status in the race when it was available. The Iditarod tracker showed Porsild’s team in Elim as of midmorning Tuesday.

Last year, a dog from rookie musher Daniel Klein’s team died about 8 miles outside the Galena checkpoint. A necropsy found that the 4-year-old dog named Ventana was pregnant. Klein scratched from the race and was officially disqualified months later after a panel “concluded that the level of dog knowledge, and thus care, displayed by Klein did not meet the standards expected by the Iditarod Trail Committee”: Race officials said the dog was in “a later stage of pregnancy” with no other abnormalities found.

During the 2024 race, three dogs died. Necropsies were performed on all three dogs but a definitive cause of death for the dogs could not be identified, according to race officials.

Animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals has called for the Iditarod to cease operation due to potential risk to the sled dogs. The organization held protests in Anchorage leading up to the 2026 race.