For our customer, an Iditarod dog trainer, high-protein dog food produced in Kansas is essential. To feed the animals while he trained them for the race, specialty food was delivered from November to February to 80 different sites along the race’s training trail in Northern Canada.

Quick Links

Siberian Husky

Challenge

  • Ship 600-pound skids of specialty dog food from Topeka, Kan., to Iqaluit, Nunavut, Canada and other destinations in Northern Canada.
  • Protect shipments from freezing during a period when temperatures are rarely above zero, and the sun shines less than two hours a day.
  • Adjust to continually changing delivery sites only accessible by dog sled.
  • Maintain constant communication in a region where satellite communication is not consistently available.

Solution

Our customer selected YRC Freight Time-CriticalTM for service that will meet any need, guaranteed.

  • Shipments moved by commercial air to Minneapolis, Minn., where they were transferred to a small prop plane destined to Yellowknife, Canada.
  • From Yellowknife, dog sleds were used to reach destinations along the race trail.
  • Pre-determined checkpoints established for communications; sometimes this meant hand-written notes left with delivery instructions because satellite reception was not always available.

Results

  • Sled dogs properly nourished and trained to compete in the world-famous Iditarod race!
  • Three, 600-pound skids of specialty dog food successfully delivered four to six times each month during the winter training period. That’s 144,000 pounds (or 72 tons!) of dog food delivered.