Dogs Who Save Lives: Sled Dogs Togo and Balto Make Historic Serum Run

The noble beast! Dogs carry potential greatness in their genes, and a strength and capacity for loyalty that makes them capable of deeds of valor and courage. Many dogs have learned skills that comfort, warn and rescue. Many have saved lives at the expense of their own. Would every dog rise to the occasion to be a hero given the right circumstances? Togo and Balto did, those historic sled dogs who were lifesavers in the Serum Run of 1925, also known as the "Great Race of Mercy."

Togo was "famous for his leadership, intelligence, and ability to sense danger." This 12 year old Siberian Husky ran 300 miles across open sea ice, managing to lead his dog sled team 15 times as far as normal. Their mission? To get serum to Nome, Alaska, to ward off an epidemic of diptheria in 1925. Dog sled teams were dispatched after the only doctor in Nome sent this telegram:

"An epidemic of diphtheria is almost inevitable here STOP I am in urgent need of one million units of diphtheria antitoxin STOP Mail is only form of transportation STOP ... "

The legendary Leonard Seppala was the record breaking "Musher" who drove his lead dog Togo and a dog sled team on the longest leg of the 1925 relay through the "most treacherous sections of Alaska's wilderness, including across the perilous ice of Norton Sound," weathering temperatures as low as -40°C and gale force winds, in near blizzard and hurricane conditions. Today we would ask a pilot in Anchorage to fly the vaccine in, but in 1925 bush pilots had only begun to test the skies over Alaska, and certainly not in 40 below zero air. Even the mail was delivered by dog sled teams like the one led by Leonard Seppala and Togo.

Togo was a champion racer, and one of the foundation sires for the entire breed of Siberian Huskies. With a coat of black, brown and gray, and 48 pounds at maturity, Togo lived to be 16. Literally, Togo's DNA is in the pedigree of every Siberian Husky on earth.

You can see this heroic dog's body in a glass case at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Museum in Wasilla, Alaska. The famous Nome Serum Run is commemorated every year by the annual Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in Wasilla.

Balto, an Alaskan Malamute sled dog, was equally responsible for saving lives in Nome, Alaska. In the historic 1925 serum run, the heroic Balto ran 100 miles, guiding a dog sled team himself without the Musher's lead. They ran at night, through drifts and river overflow, over Topkok Mountain with gale force winds bringing the windchill to 85 degrees below zero. The visibility was so poor the Musher could not always see the dogs. But Balto and his dog sled team kept on running and did not stop until they ran right into Nome. By then there were 28 diptheria cases and several deaths. Before the epidemic could spread further, the serum was handed over with every ampule intact. But some of the dogs were not intact. In the historic 674 mile, 127 hour relay, 14 dogs died of burst lungs and hypothermia, in the cause of saving human lives.

A statue was erected in Balto's honor in Central Park, New York City. His stuffed body is on display in Cleveland, at the Museum of Natural History. But to many, Balto's historic, amazing run seems more like supernatural history.

Most Famous 20^th Century Dogs:http://www.savvy-dog-lovers.com/how-to-take-care-of-a-dog/the-10-most-famous-dogs-of-the-20th-century/

Sled Dogs Were Lifesavers in the Serum Run: http://www.gi.alaska.edu/ScienceForum/ASF15/1531.html

Serum Run, the Race to Nome:^{1, 2}
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_serum_run_to_Nome