Matt Failor's Cool Cat

This is a forum for general discussion of dogsled racing, with a special focus on Alaska, and is open to all. It is expected that this area will see the most activity during the months leading up to, and during the annual Iditarod sled dog race. Pictures from races can be posted here. Hosting is provided by the Bering Strait School District (BSSD), and the area is open all year. Care to be one of our volunteer moderators? Contact us!

Moderators: fladogfan, libby the lab, mira, mamamia, sc-race-fan

Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby Moose » Sun Mar 15, 2020 6:49 am

Just stumbled upon this. Were you all aware? Sorry if it's already posted here. Fdf and I met Matt in NH last October and were really taken with him, his demeanor, and his kindness. I hope she'll be okay.

https://www.ktva.com/story/41896494/i-t ... H1au7UuaD4
Wag more, bark less.
User avatar
Moose
 
Posts: 5392
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 1:11 pm
Location: Maine

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby Another UK Fan » Sun Mar 15, 2020 6:56 am

Thanks Moose, but - nope - 'not available in your region'.

I met Matt at his kennel in 2018 and was also deeply impressed - he was just as you describe. Very kind.
User avatar
Another UK Fan
 
Posts: 1356
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:55 am
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne UK

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby tanglefoot » Sun Mar 15, 2020 6:58 am

AUKF

https://www.hidemyass.com/

use this. it deletes all region blockers :)
Believe in your dog team and your dog team will believe in you. – Frank Turner
TANGLEFOOT SLED DOG RACING TEAM
User avatar
tanglefoot
 
Posts: 4570
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:41 pm
Location: cotswolds england uk

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby Another UK Fan » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:00 am

ooooo - thank you Tangles!
User avatar
Another UK Fan
 
Posts: 1356
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:55 am
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne UK

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby fladogfan » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:05 am

Under steady snowfall at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race restart in Willow last Sunday, veteran musher Matthew Failor's dog, Cool Cat, snuggled inside his warm trailer.

"She's kind of my spirit animal," Failor said, before giving her a pre-race kiss.

He said he was excited about racing to Nome with Cool Cat this year. He wanted to bring her last year, but she was pregnant with a litter of puppies during the 2019 Iditarod.

At 9 years old, Failor said Cool Cat is the "matriarch" of his kennel. She's a good lead dog, but she's also like a pet to him and sleeps in his bed at night.

"She was having a flawless race," Failor said.

Cool Cat was having a good time, barking, wanting to go and eating everything, according to Failor, by the time he and his team reached Takotna early Wednesday morning where they took their mandatory 24-hour rest.

After taking a nap, Failor went outside to wake up his dogs, which were sleeping under blankets.

"Cool cat wasn’t doing well," he said. "She was whimpering. She was kind of crying, which wasn’t necessarily a red flag right away because she’s a super talkative dog, but it was a different type of crying."

He said he noticed her dry heaving, so he called a veterinarian over to check on her. The veterinarian, Jason Heezen of Plankinton, South Dakota, advised Failor to get Cool Cat on her feet.

"It was then that we noticed her stomach was completely swollen. It was like the size of a beach ball," Failor said. "Right then, he said that it was a twisted gut. Well, he used medical terminology that I didn’t understand and I said, 'Is that a twisted gut?' and he said 'Yes, that’s exactly what it is. We need to move quickly.'"

The American Kennel Club identifies gastric dilatation-volvulus as a medical and surgical emergency. It's a deadly form of bloating that Failor knows as a twisted gut.

"A twisted gut is all these gasses kind of being built up in her stomach," Failor explained, "creating pressure which is slowing down her heart and not allowing her heart to properly work to push blood throughout the body, so she was going cold."

Failor, Heezen and other volunteers took Cool Cat inside. Failor laid on the floor with her listening to veterinarians discuss possible scenarios to save his dog.

"We’re in the middle of nowhere in one of the villages in Alaska and obviously we don’t have like great facilities. We’ve got great staff, but we needed to get her out of there. So now all the sudden I’m like, my world is ending," Failor said.

Checkpoint staff quickly activated a plan.

The nearby checkpoint in McGrath had a better facility for an emergency surgery and a veterinarian that could perform it. They found a pilot and scheduled a flight. The weather wasn't an issue.

"One thing that was apparent was that they needed to relieve pressure from her stomach," Failor explained, "'cause she was in a lot of pain and that would hopefully make her body temperature rise up."

Failor watched as Heezen rolled Cool Cat on her side, applied a topical ointment and gave her a partial sedative.

"They found a place on her stomach and poked her stomach and like a hot air balloon [air] just started pouring out of her belly, instantly giving her relief," Failor said.

The emergency procedure would buy Cool Cat time until she could undergo surgery.

Failor carried Cool Cat into an otter sled attached to a snowmachine waiting to take them to the airport. He wrapped her in a blanket to try to keep her warm, as her body temperature was already too low.

"As we were driving frantically down the road to get to the airport, there’s snow flying all over so this vet unzipped his coat and covered us," Failor said, his voice breaking.

After a long pause, Failor continued, "So I thought she was dying in my hands and he was like an angel, like shielding us from all the snow and talking to me to calm me down."

By the time they reached the plane, Failor said Cool Cat jumped out of the otter sled on her own. He put her in the plane and said goodbye. Then snapped a photo.

"I take a picture of her because... I didn’t know," he said.


Failor said veterinarians in McGrath relieved the pressure from Cool Cat's stomach again and decided she was stable enough to fly to Anchorage for surgery.

"When she got to Anchorage, the veterinarian there confirmed that the veterinarian in Takotna saved her life, hands down," Failor said. "He recognized that this was something that needed to happen right away."

Cool Cat underwent emergency surgery in Anchorage and is on the mend. She had her first meal after surgery on Friday. On Saturday, she was ready to be discharged and is now home recovering.

Failor said it's the most remarkable story he's ever been a part of. He said a twisted gut can happen to any dog and is not necessarily a running-related catastrophe.

He's just grateful Heezen was there.

"He saved her life and I’m most definitely in debt to him," Failor said.

He said he plans to nominate Heezen and the other vet that assisted for the "Golden Stethoscope" award — an award given out in past years to a veterinarian on the Iditarod trail.

"Even if they don’t get it, they totally deserve it," he said.

Failor's focus now is on getting the rest of his team — which includes some of Cool Cat's children — to Nome safely.

"We miss her," he said, "but I'm just really glad that she's alive."

Copyright 2020 KTVA. All rights reserved.
All my children have four feet and fur.
User avatar
fladogfan
 
Posts: 7388
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Central Florida

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby Another UK Fan » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:14 am

Many thanks fdf. What a wonderful story. So good to know that good things do happen.
User avatar
Another UK Fan
 
Posts: 1356
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 5:55 am
Location: Newcastle upon Tyne UK

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby fladogfan » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:14 am

I agree with Matt those vets earned that award.
All my children have four feet and fur.
User avatar
fladogfan
 
Posts: 7388
Joined: Fri Feb 01, 2008 10:08 am
Location: Central Florida

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby flowerpower » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:17 am

:shock: :shock: :shock: :shock: What a story. My eyeballs are leaking for some reason. Good girl, Cool Cat. And what a treasure the vets are! So happy she is home recovering!! Mattie, didn't Mr. Wolf have a similar episode?
"No matter how little money and how few possesions you own, having a dog makes you rich." - Louis Sabin
User avatar
flowerpower
 
Posts: 2340
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 8:33 pm
Location: Austin, Texas

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby tanglefoot » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:43 am

wow!

i know from previous experience you have to act FAST with this as its fatal in next to no time.
Believe in your dog team and your dog team will believe in you. – Frank Turner
TANGLEFOOT SLED DOG RACING TEAM
User avatar
tanglefoot
 
Posts: 4570
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 12:41 pm
Location: cotswolds england uk

Re: Matt Failor's Cool Cat

Postby Heidi » Sun Mar 15, 2020 7:58 am

Wow is right! Thanks for sharing.
User avatar
Heidi
 
Posts: 3203
Joined: Wed Jan 30, 2008 6:57 am

Next

Return to Mushing Talk

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 30 guests

cron