“I resented the statue to Balto, for if any dog deserved special mention, it was Togo.” -Leonhard Seppala, Togo’s Owner
15: Togo
Helped Deliver Medicine to Children in Nome, Alaska
Born: October 1913, Alaska, United States of America
Died: 5 December 1929, Poland Spring, Maine, United States of America
In 1925, the small town of Nome, Alaska was hit with a massive diphtheria outbreak. Only 1,300 people lived in the town to begin with, but diphtheria threatened to seriously kill or harm several thousand more in the surrounding area. Between November 1924 and July 1925, the one seaport in town was blocked by massive sheets of ice, meaning the only way to get supplies into the town was via the Iditarod Trail—a 938-mile overland trek.
Just before winter set in, the only doctor in town noticed that his diphtheria antitoxin had expired. He acted quickly and ordered more, but the antitoxin did not arrive before the port closed for the winter. Sure enough, several children soon began to fall ill, and four died before the doctor realized he had a diphtheria outbreak.
If this story is beginning to sound familiar, its because you may have heard it because of Balto, a very famous sled dog that helped bring medicine and supplies to the people of Nome. And while Balto’s story is very famous, another dog that also helped complete the trek named Togo is decidedly less famous.
Togo was a Siberian Husky who led a team of dogs across the most dangerous part of the journey that winter. As a puppy, Togo developed a painful throat condition that weakened him. His owner tried to get rid of Togo by adopting him out to another family, but Togo refused to be parted with his original owner. He went so far as to jump out of a window and run back to his person after the adoption was completed. Even though he was still only a few months old, Togo began excitedly following alongside working sled teams. His owner felt he had no other choice but to harness Togo to the team—at only eight months old! That day, Togo reportedly ran seventy-five miles with his team, an unheard-of sum for such a little, untrained, dog. While Togo held several different positions on sled teams, he eventually was placed in the lead position.
Over the next few years, Togo helped his owner and team win the All-Alaska sled dog sweepstakes in 1915, 1916, and 1917. He became known throughout the state for being one of, if not the hardest working sled dog.
When Togo helped the people of Nome, he was twelve years old. His leg of the journey was 261 miles (for comparison, Balto’s team ran between fifty-three or fifty-five miles depending on the source). Balto is usually given the accolades because it was his team that completed the final leg of the journey to deliver the medicine to the people of Nome.
In all, twenty different teams of around 500 sled dogs completed the 674-mile journey in five and a half days, saving thousands of lives in the process. All throughout, the daily temperature reached around -30 degrees Fahrenheit (or about -34 Celsius)!
According to the American Kennel Club (article linked below) on one particularly treacherous part of the journey:
“The team became stranded on an ice floe. The quick-thinking Seppala tied a lead to Togo, his only hope, and tossed the dog across five feet of water. Togo attempted to pull the floe supporting the sled, but the line snapped. Amazingly, the once-in-a-lifetime lead dog had the wherewithal to snatch the line from the water, roll it around his shoulders like a harness, and eventually pull his team to safety.”
Togo retired to Maine and was euthanized at the age of sixteen. His owner had his skin mounted and put on display in Vermont, but today Togo’s skin resides at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters Museum in Wasilla, Alaska after Alaskan students successfully campaigned to have Togo returned to their great state. Togo’s skeleton is held in the collection of the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.
In 2019, Disney (who had previously made a movie about Balto) released a film called Togo on their streaming platform, Disney+, based on the real-life story. The dog who portrayed Togo in the film, Diesel, is a Siberian Husky and descendant of Togo himself.
Badges Earned:
Find a Grave Marked
Located In My Personal Library:
American Spirit Magazine Article “Dogged Determination” by Jeff Walter (May/June 2024 Edition)
Sources:
https://www.nps.gov/people/togo.htm
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/togo-siberian-husky-sled-dog-hero-of-1925/