Galena, Alaska--

With the lights of Galena glittering on the far bank of the Yukon River, Fairbanks Musher Ramy Brooks was minutes away from arriving in 10th place Friday night during the 26th Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race when a dog suddenly collapsed in its traces.

Brooks rushed forward. Down was Bird, a 2-year old reddish husky with blue eyes and floppy ears, a veteran of the Yukon Quest and descendant of the family's breeding line.

The sight of a dog dropping is a musher's horror, but Brooks kept his head and immediately examined the husky. "I looked into his eyes, and he didn't look right," Brooks said the next morning. "It can go the wrong way if you don't stay on top of it."

He wrapped Bird in his parka, loaded him into the sled and quickly drove the remaining few hundred yards across the river, arriving at the checkpoint at 11:01 p.m.

At the checkpoint, race veterinarians took Bird into a warm cabin and administered anti-shock medicine and fluids. Soon Bird was recovering.

What weakened the dog won't be known until after laboratory blood tests are conducted elsewhere. "I think he may have gotten hypoglycemic(a low concentration of sugar in the blood)," race veterinarian Vern Starks said.

Starks praised Brooks' response to the dog's collapse-- and his overall care of the team. "He took good care of him," Stark said. "He's a good kid."

But for 29 year old Brooks-- a rising contender racing his fifth Iditarod-- the weight of Bird in his sled only added to the burdens he was carrying to Nome in his heart.

He had brought along a portion of the ashes of his aunt, Glenda Brooks, who died about 10 days before the race. Then in Galena, he learned by phone more sad news about his grandfather, Ray Brooks, who had been ill.

"Grandpa passed away the day before the race," Brooks said softly Saturday morning as he ate spaghetti in the Galena checkpoint cabin. "I didn't find out until last night. The whole family agreed not to tell until I finished the race. I basically said I wanted to know because it was bothering me."

In this Yukon River checkpoint 400 miles from Nome, Brooks was now thinking hard about scratching and putting his ambition to win the 1,100 mile race temporarily on hold.

"I'm not enjoying myself," he said. "So much has happened in the last two months."

Since 1994, when he won rookie of the year honors, Brooks has consistently improved his Iditarod performance. Last year he finished eighth.

After starting 42nd this year, Brooks steadily moved forward. His light weight sled has broken twice, and he has had to grapple with the same daytime heat as the other drivers. His dogs have performed well.

Not the musher though. Back in Ruby, the previous checkpoint, Brooks was saddened to drop one of his favorite dogs, Gretchen, who was with him on his four previous Iditarods.

And Brooks worried about his extended family. Foremost in his mind was his immediate family's move in October from Fairbanks to Eureka to live in a cabin owned by former Iditarod champion Susan Butcher and her husband Dave Monson. While warm, the cabin has no electricity or running water-- tough on a family with a baby and a 3 year old.

Then Brooks ran into the worst storm of his career on a training run. "It started the whole racing season off on a tough note," said his wife Cathy Brooks.

On Saturday, he said, it all seemed too much. Maybe it was time to scratch.

"I still have my dream," he said. "Everybody should have a dream of what they want to do-- I think that's part of getting through life. "If I scratch here and I don't race for a year or two, I'll be back in a couple of years with that same dream, working that much harder and enjoying myself again."

"My family is more important to me right now, and they always will be. And to me that's part of my dream."

But that afternoon, Cathy flew into Galena-- the first time she'd seen her husband on the trail during an Iditarod. "I told him,'I'm going to be in Kaltag. Come and see me.'" Before long Ramy Brooks was packing his sled.

"He's very good of thinking of other people," Cathy Brooks said of her husband. "When you get tired and bad things happen... he was just really discouraged."

"I think he realizes it's going to be work for him (to continue), but he's never been afraid of work."

Soon the sled was packed. Cathy hugged her husband, told him she was there for him.

After 17 hours at this checkpoint, Ramy guided his team on to the Yukon River-- now in 21st place. Cathy blew the lead dog a kiss. The animal briefly jumped up, then continued.

Ramy Brooks was back in the race.