12/5/2023 0 Comments Leonhard seppala togoHowever, with the fate of Nome in the balance, locals knew the aging yet experienced duo was their last, best hope. During this time, Seppala himself won the All-Alaska Sweepstakes in 1915, 1916, and 1917.īy the time the diphtheria outbreak struck in 1925, Togo was 12 years old and Seppala 47, both seemingly past their primes. Togo led Seppala’s team in races and excursions long and short, and dog and man became inseparable. Over the years, Togo became known across Alaska for his tenacity, strength, endurance, and intelligence as Seppala’s prized lead dog. Unwittingly, Seppala had found himself the perfect lead dog for which he had always yearned. Togo ultimately ran 75 miles that day and worked his way up to lead on his first-ever time in a harness. He put a harness on the 8-month-old Togo and hooked him into the team. Exasperated, Seppala decided to do what he did best with his dogs. His penchant for mischief led to a mauling when he ran up on a team of much larger Malamutes. Still too young for a harness, he often got loose to run alongside teams training with Seppala, much to his owner’s anguish. It seemed to Seppala that he was stuck with the incorrigible pup.Īs Togo grew, he became captivated by the working sled dogs surrounding him. However, after being given away to a neighbor, Togo flung himself through a glass window and escaped back home. As a puppy, Togo suffered from health problems, and Seppala saw no use for the undersized, seemingly unfit dog. At the time, many of the Nome’s finest sled dogs were found in Seppala’s kennel. While whelping records from the era are scant, it’s generally accepted that Togo was born in 1913 to a dam named Dolly, who is regarded as a foundation bitch in the breed’s development. ![]() Clearly, there was something to be said for these smaller, yet scrappy, Siberians as stellar sled dogs. In 1910’s All-Alaska Sweepstakes, an all-Siberian team driven by musher “Iron Man” Johnson took first place in what remains a course record. That summer, English musher Fox Ramsay imported 60 of the finest specimens he found in Siberia to Nome. Those dogs, topping out around 50 pounds, would surprise by taking third in the annual All-Alaska Sweepstakes race in 1909. Around that time, the first known Siberian Huskies in America were brought to Nome by Russian fur trader William Goosak. Under the employ of the Pioneer Mining Company, Seppala began making a name for himself as one of the strongest mushers in Nome. The Norwegian-born Seppala first arrived in Alaska in 1900, when most sled dogs were burly Alaskan Malamutes or mixed breeds. Courtesy of Sigrid Seppala Hanks Collection, Carrie M. Most recently, Togo was featured in the AKC Museum of the Dog exhibition “ Mush! A Tribute to Sled Dogs From Arctic Exploration to the Iditarod,” on view now through March 29th, 2020. In 2019, his story was retold in the riveting Disney+ movie Togo, starring Togo’s own descendant Diesel as the namesake Siberian. ![]() In 2001, Togo received his own statue in NYC’s Seward Park. Over time, with the help of historians, Togo began to garner the recognition he deserved. However, those in the know regarded Togo as the serum run’s unsung hero. ![]() All told, the 12-year-old Togo and Seppala traversed an astounding 264 miles, compared to an average of 31 miles each for the other teams.įor years, Balto, who also came from Seppala’s kennel, was celebrated, even earning a statue in New York’s Central Park. While the lead dog of the 53-mile final leg, Balto, would become famous for his role in the run, many argue that it was Seppala and his Siberian Husky lead dog, Togo, who were the true saviors of the day. Amazingly, in just five and a half days, the “Great Race of Mercy” was completed and the lifesaving serum was delivered to Nome. Officials determined that the only way to deliver the serum in time was via sled dog teams.Ī relay of 20 teams was assembled, including that of Leonhard Seppala, Alaska’s most venerated musher. With a blizzard approaching, air travel was ruled out. An antitoxin was located, but the nearest point which the serum could reach by rail was Nenana, located 674 miles from Nome. Children were especially at risk, and Nome’s isolation created a nightmare scenario. In the winter of 1925, a deadly outbreak of diphtheria in the remote port of Nome, Alaska, threatened the lives of the 10,000-plus living in the area.
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