ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Iditarod Trail sled dog race kicked off in Alaska this weekend.
As you can imagine, these dog teams can be a handful for the solo mushers.
That's why a small army of volunteers went through dog handler training to give mushers a hand during the start of the race.
A Sevier County man stepped up to take on the canine training school.
Craig Mintz is an associate pastor at First Baptist Church in Sevierville.
The church is in Alaska for a mission trip, and Mintz decided to take on the challenge.
"We go to other places on mission. We do sports camps, basketball, football that kind of thing. But there is nowhere like Alaska, nothing like the Iditarod that we could ever be a part of. This is really unique," Mintz said.
Mintz says he had so much fun, and he's already hoping to lend a hand again next year.