Legendary sled dog veterinarian and musher Dr. Jerry Vanek will be visiting the North Shore this week and will give a presentation on his work Wednesday night at 7pm at the Hamilton-Wenham High School. Please join us at this event to learn more about sled dog racing and then come out on February 4th & 5th to watch the New England Sled Dog Races at Appleton Farms!
Dr. Jerry Vanek’s career working with sled dogs has taken him from the southern tip of Chile to the northern reaches of Scandinavia to the southern tip of South Africa; from Boston,
Massachusetts, to Nome, Alaska; from North Dakota to the Yukon. He has served as a sled dog veterinarian on over 85 races and expeditions in North and South America, Europe, and Africa
since 1992, including 8 Iditarods, 5 Yukon Quests, 12 John Beargreases, 6 UPs, 7 Empires, multiple times on the White Oak Classic, CanAm Crown, Race to the Sky, Apostle Islands, and Great Trail, as well as the Eagle Cap, Grand Portage Passage, Red River, IFSS World and Junior World Championships, South African National Championships, Norway’s Femundløpet, Sweden’s
Amundsen Race, and numerous Midwestern sprint snow and dryland races.
In 1993, Dr. Vanek was the veterinarian on the Mount Vaughan Antarctic Expedition, and, in 2007, ‘09, and ’11, a veterinarian on the 1925 Diphtheria Serum Run reenactment. A musher since his
teens, he still drives dogs whenever he can. He is an honorary life member of the North Star Sled Dog Club; recipient of the Maeb Bayers’ Lifetime Achievement in Mushing award and the
White Oak Classic Musher Tribute award; and past president, life member, and charter board member of the International Sled Dog Veterinary Medical Association.
Over the past two decades, Dr. Vanek has presented more than 110 lectures and publications on sled dog medicine. He is a certified canine rehabilitation therapist (CCRT) and his veterinary
practice is focused on sled dogs and canine sports medicine.