FORT KENT – An Alaskan malamute running in the 13th annual Can-Am Crown Sled Dog Race died early Tuesday on the trail between Maibec and Allagash.

The dog died in harness while on the trail, but veterinarians believe an earlier collision may have caused the death.

The dog, a 7-year-old show and racing dog, was sleeping, covered with some snow when it was run over by a sled. The dog started running again when the team rose, but collapsed a few miles down the trial.

A necropsy was performed by veterinarians to find the cause of death, listed as fatal trauma.

“A low speed collision occurred between two teams while passing, resulting in fatal trauma to one sled dog,” chief veterinarian Kathy Jackson wrote in a fax.

She could not be reached for further comment Tuesday.

Bill Matott of Manchester, N.H., owner of the deceased dog, said it was an unfortunate incident, and no fault of the other musher involved in the incident.

“It was not really an accident, just a freaky incident, maybe,” he said when reached at his local motel Tuesday. “I was helping a musher get around my team and part of the teams got tangled.

“The other musher’s sled ran over a dog that was laying down,” Matott said. “The dog picked up and was fine. A few miles down the trail, the dog collapsed.”

Matott said he tried to resuscitate the dog, but was unable to. He said he thought the dog collapsed for another reason, not from the collision.

He said Kage was his lead dog, but was not running lead at the time.

“He was a very nice dog, one of our favorites,” he said. “He was special because he worked so hard.

“It was a very freaky thing, and not the fault of the other musher,” he said. “I didn’t think anything of it when the incident happened.”