Alaska’s Iditarod dogs get neon visibility harnesses after 5 were fatally hit while training [Video]

The Iditarod, the annual sled dog race celebrating Alaska’s official state sport, got underway Saturday with a new focus on safety after five dogs died and eight were injured in collisions with snowmobiles while training on shared, multi-use trails.Video above: The 52nd Annual Iditarod began on SaturdayFor the first time, mushers who line up for the competitive start Sunday will have the chance to snag light-up, neon harnesses or necklaces for their dogs before they begin the dayslong race that takes the dog-and-human sled teams about 1,000 miles (1,600 kilometers) over Alaska’s unforgiving terrain. The original plan was to hand them out Saturday at the race’s ceremonial start in Anchorage, but organizers did not receive approval from competition officials.The 38 mushers will trace a course across two mountain ranges, the frozen Yukon River and the ice-covered Bering Sea. In about 10 days, they will come off the ice and onto …