Dear Editor,

Our family just spent our Christmas vacation in Whistler. We have been there several times as well as other parts of Canada. We have always loved Canada. We enjoyed our skiing and eating at all the good restaurants in Whistler.

The one thing we did not enjoy was a dog sled trip we took. We were devastated to see the condition of these dogs. We booked our trip through a company located in the Hilton Hotel and even asked the booking agent about the tour. We were told it was a good tour for animal lovers. That was not the case.

If you are an animal lover, you do not want to see dogs with all their ribs showing. These dogs were so skinny and when asked about it we were told it was because they were mixed with greyhound. They were also very scared and nervous, some even shaking. They tried to back up and get away from their handlers and had to be dragged to the sleds to harness them. It was not a fun experience to see the fear in their eyes.

I urge all citizens of Whistler to be observant and get involved to make conditions for these poor animals better. They run all day and even into the night and didn't even have any shelter at the tour site. I would never sign up for another tour like this and I hope others will be better informed than I was.

Janice Forrester

Knoxville, Tennessee