He is the mate of Jenna and father of Aleu, Kodi, Dingo, Saba, and two other unnamed pups. With the port closed … Seppala felt that Balto was not good enough to put on his own team for the Serum Run. All posts. our entire suite of free newsletters here. Time outside is essential—and we can help you make the most of it. No single dog deserves all the credit for saving Nome. He competed with his beloved sleek, lightweight Siberian huskies and enjoyed watching the aged Togo continue to beat the odds. At Seppala's urging, Togo jumped across a five-foot gap to shore ice in his harness to pull the floe closer to shore. He investigated some gold claims of his own, and later worked for a mining company, employed by Jafet Lindeberg, one of the three famous "Lucky Swedes" who discovered gold on Anvil Creek in 1898. Still, Togo was arguably the team’s most impressive canine in sheer distance—he ran more than 350 miles total, more than any dog in the pack—as well as heroics. Today he stands in a glass case at Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters in Wasilla, Alaska, where admirers can view the husky who was Nome's dog hero in the Serum Run of 1925. The dog he thought deserved praise, instead of Balto, was Togo. Of the 20 mushers on the relay, Seppala ran the greatest distance, and through some of the most dangerous conditions on the trail. The little dog with the big heart died on December 5, 1929, at age 16, and his remains were mounted and returned to Alaska. In the winter of 1925, a deadly illness struck the city of Nome, Alaska. Balto would be celebrated in newspapers across the national as the dog who delivered the serum and saved the town. Walden was a good sport and conceded that Togo had won the cigars for me." After the race, Kaasen, who by then owned Balto, took his leader and other team members on a celebrity tour of the West Coast for a year. And those who lost against Seppala's lean, smaller-frame dogs disdainfully called them "Siberian rats." That talent served Togo well on the serum run: at one point, the intrepid pup led the team across 40 miles of Bering Sea ice in the face of an oncoming storm. FACTS ABOUT TOGO . - Unlike Togo, Balto ran more true to the usual size for Siberian huskies at the time...about 55-60 pounds. Guuner Kaasen with Balto… Originally Seppala and one other musher were going to carry the serum all the way, the first musher traveling from Nenana to Nulato; Seppala, from Nulato to Nome. He also held the record time between Nenana and Nulato, as well as many other local races in the years to follow. Leonhard Seppala, the legendary musher who piloted Togo’s sled, and who happened to breed and raise Balto as well, later said that he was bothered by all the fame Balto gained while Togo got widely forgotten. He commented: "It was almost more than I could bear when the ‘newspaper dog' Balto received a statue for his ‘glorious achievements.'" Of Togo and Balto. Togo, named for the Japanese admiral Togo Heihachiro (1848-1934), was born in 1913 and developed into Seppala's favorite. Seppala and Togo were celebrities. Since 1925, Balto has earned universal acclaim, legions of fans, and a commemorative bronze statue in New York City’s Central Park. In 1928 Seppala made Chatanika, near Fairbanks, his Alaska home, and was warmed when the American Kennel Club accepted the Siberian Husky as a registered breed in 1930. It is important to note that Balto was not the original name of this dog, but Togo. In a feat of athleticism and frankly un-doglike ingenuity, Togo grabs the lead rope in his mouth and pulls the sled ashore. On my command, Togo leaped to one side with his full weight straining against the collar, then another leap to the left and the sled runners were loosened. Did the serum run to Nome need a reboot? Togo, the dog that started the 650-mile run across Alaska during a 1925 storm finished by Balto, finally gets his due in a new movie, “Togo,” streaming Friday on Disney+. EDIT: As allowed by the commissioner I adjusted some colours around a bit and made Togo more brown (as Agouti is a bit more brown in colour), changed his eyes to an icier blue and lightened his nose a bit to be a bit more 'liver' if anything. Seppala collected it, turned and carried it to Golovin, another 91 miles. In later years he and his wife Constance would split their time between Seattle and Fairbanks. Outside does not accept money for editorial gear reviews. When Togo was very young, an ailment caused his throat to swell. I knew that Togo could do better but felt that here was an opportunity to inject a little comedy into the act. Most popular Most recent. Within weeks, Togo had had enough of domestic life. And in December 1925, a statue of Balto was erected in New York City's Central Park. The dog and his companions were moved to the Cleveland Zoo, and thousands came to cheer him on his first day in retirement. As the story goes, his harness snapped from the strain of pulling, but Togo jumped into the water after it, took the harness in his teeth and kept pulling, closing the gap so the team could get to shore. The real hero was actually another husky named Togo, the runt of his litter who surprised everyone with his strength and intelligence, and who pulled the sleigh for the longest and most hazardous distance (while he was 11 years old no less) until his exhausted self had to let Balto do the finishing miles. They created a stir from the West Coast through the Midwest and onward to New England. An in-depth look at the "Great Race of Mercy" that involved 20 mushers and 150 sled dogs. They worried that the fatality rate for those infected would be 100 percent. In the years following the serum run, Seppala made trips to the Lower 48 states with his heroic sled dogs. (A vaccine was later developed that has virtually eliminated the disease.) Togo the Sled Dog who lost his fame to Balto. Togo, which stars Willem Dafoe, promises to chart the life of the historically overlooked pup who made the crucial delivery of medicine possible. The town’s single doctor and four nurses watched helplessly as a three-year-old boy died, soon followed by a seven-year-old girl. He broke through a window and ran back to Seppala’s sledding kennels, a scene that occurs early in the movie. But a different dog, Togo, ran more than double the distance of any other dog on the team and led it through some of the riskiest spots. He is the main protagonist of Balto and the deuteragonist of Balto II: Wolf Quest and Balto III: Wings of Change. Many of you may know the story of Balto and other sled dogs delivering the diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, Alaska in 1925. He was later mounted and added to the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Seppala traveled all the way to New England and took on a team of local Chinooksin a friendly sled dog race. An outbreak of diphtheria had bloomed in Nome and without a delivery of antitoxin, the population of the entire region would be exposed. His competitor was a large mixed-breed dog named Chinook, owned by another musher and dog breeder, Arthur Walden, who had prospected in the Yukon. We came to Togo skeptical, but now we’re sold: the original Balto film left out the journey’s most interesting character. The serum run trail trekked nearly 700 miles from Anchorage to Nome in treacherous blizzard conditions. Togo and Balto, both Seppala Siberians, would perform spectacularly, demonstrating their superior bloodlines and training. It was from Universal, not Disney. When Togo was about 14, Seppala gave him to his Maine kennel partner, Elizabeth Ricker, trusting that Togo would live out his life in ease. Balto had a 20-muinite silent film made about him, called Balto's Race to Nome. Balto lived there comfortably until his death in 1933 at age 11. Named after Heihachiro Togo, a Japanese Admiral who fought in the war between Russia and Japan (1904-05), Togo was the lead sled dog of Leonhard Seppala. In one account of Togo's bravery, Seppala and the team were stranded for several hours on a Norton Sound ice floe after the ice on which they were traveling broke free. Balto later inspired a 1995 animated movie that was loosely based on his story. Known from the Great Race for Mercy carrying diptheria serum 365 miles across the Alaskan wilderness saving thousands of children. Togo lived out his life in Maine, and Seppala visited him often. But that week, record-setting cold weather and gale-force winds swept across Alaska, grounding the only rickety planes in the area. Balto was the name of a Siberian Husky, born in 1923 and died 1933. On an interesting side note, despite Gunnar Kaasen being the musher that guided Balto, Leonhard Seppala owned both Balto and Togo. Looking for something else? Some 170 miles into the journey, just outside Shakloolik, Seppala was intercepted by another musher who shouted that he had the serum. Their owner, Norwegian-born Leonhard Seppala, came to Nome during the height of its gold rush on June 14, 1900. In one dramatic scene, Togo has reached shore, but the sled with the medicine has gotten stuck on floating ice on the other side of a frigid channel of water. Togo is on display at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race headquarters cabin in Wasilla; Balto is still at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History in Cleveland, Ohio. While Kaasen and Balto were given much of the glory, it was Seppala and Togo who insiders knew had truly saved the day. Sadly, Balto was sold, along with other dogs to Cleveland Zoo, where he lived until 14 years of age. This is accurately depicted in the movie. See more ideas about Dog sledding, Togo, Iditarod. Check out our entire suite of free newsletters here. About a year after the serum run, Seppala took Togo and 40 other dogs on a cross-country tour with an Alaska Native dog handler named Kingiak. Audio. Balto was Kaasen’s lead dog during the serum run and thus was at the forefront as the team entered Nome carrying the lifesaving serum. He was a back up dog after TOGO. Filter by post type. Here’s another moment in the flim that seems too good to be true but is: Because of Togo’s diminutive size as a puppy, his owner once gave him away to a family to keep as a house pet. Step aside, Balto, Disney+ is giving us another very good doggo his due in the Dec. 20 premiere of the streaming site's original movie based on a true story, Togo… Nome’s medical team put out a call for help—and found that the nearest supply of serum was in a storehouse outside Anchorage. The city, located approximately 150 miles south of the Arctic Circle, had a population of just under 1,000. Chat. Their owner, Norwegian-born Leonhard Seppala, came to Nome during the height of its gold rush on June 14, 1900. It was the only way. Thousands would die. With Togo in the lead in what would be his final race, the much-smaller Siberians triumphed. When you buy something using the retail links in our stories, we may earn a small commission. To inspire active participation in the world outside through award-winning coverage of the sports, people, places, adventure, discoveries, health and fitness, gear and apparel, trends and events that make up an active lifestyle. He was given this name in memory of the Norwegian explorer Samuel Balto, popular in Nome during the gold rush. He was voiced by Kevin Bacon in the first film and Maurice LaMarche in the sequels. Find more newsletters on our. When a Cleveland businessman called attention to the dogs' horrible living conditions, the city's people held fundraisers to purchase them, with children donating their pennies for the cause of rescuing Balto. Subscribe to our newsletters to stay up-to-date on the latest outdoor news. Text. The basic conceit of “Togo” is by itself amusing – namely, that the story everyone thinks they know is actually wrong. Balto is the titular main protagonist of the Balto trilogy. “He was the best dog [owner Leonhard Seppala] had at navigating sea ice, and would often run well ahead of the team on a long lead in order to pick out the safest and easiest route across Norton Sound or other parts of the Bering Sea,” the Salisburys write. Link. Another musher, Gunnar Kaasen, put his faith in a green youngster, 3-year-old Balto. Young children were especially vulnerable to it. Although neither of us smoked, we bet two cigars on the result. Thank you. So Balto was larger than Togo. Thinking it would be up to him and the other man, Seppala was already on the trail when territorial Governor Scott Bone amended the plan to incorporate mail-carrier mushers and make it a 20-team relay. The 1995 movie Balto immortalized it for a generation: the eponymous dog rallied the team that brought the lifesaving serum through the Alaskan wilds, heroically saving the city’s children. Hence, Seppala bred, named, raised and trained Balto but did not race with him. Subscribe to our What You Missed newsletter for the top headlines from the outdoor world, in your inbox six days a week. Balto "stole Togo's thunder" because Seppala, Togo, and the rest of the team ran more miles than anyone else as well as across the Norton sound to save an entire day. Balto recived ALL the credit, while Togo actually did the most work. Seppala chose his most experienced dog, 12-year-old Togo, as his leader. Both Balto and Togo were part of the 1925 serum run to Nome, Alaska, where a diphtheria outbreak plagued the town's children. the sleds would pass the medicene down to each team to bring back the medicene. "I had watched his dogs perform and answered with a challenge that my Togo, who weighed only 48 pounds in harness, could pull any load that Walden's Chinook could. In recent years, Outside Online has reported on groundbreaking research linking time in nature to improved mental and physical health, and we’ve kept you informed about the unprecedented threats to America’s public lands. The temperature was estimated at 30 F (34 C) and the gale force winds causing a wind chill of 85 F (65 C). But you’ve heard this story. As it turns out, Balto was just one of more than 100 pups who made that lifesaving dogsled relay to Nome possible. Balto … The saga began when a doctor diagnosed the first case of diphtheria, a deadly illness, in a young boy in Nome in January 1925. Kingiak, my Eskimo helper, hid one of Walden's farm chickens under his parka and stepped out ahead of Togo a distance of 20 feet or so. He was tapped to anchor the serum relay team. The nearest stores of medicine were hundreds of miles away, across the state’s snowy interior. Our mission to inspire readers to get outside has never been more critical. The people of Nome realized that sled dogs would have to carry the 20-pound package of medicine to their city through the storm. This—and we cannot stress this enough—actually happened. Share your thoughts, experiences and the tales behind the art. Togo was born in Little Creek, AK sometime in October of 1913. A short film titled Balto's Race to Nome was made to honor the lead dog. With Seppala, 19 other dog mushers and their teams were enlisted to carry the life-saving diphtheria serum in a relay across 675 miles of wilderness during the dead of winter. Help fund our award-winning journalism with a contribution today. Several years earlier, a flu epidemic had killed off half of Nome’s indigenous population. Togo and Balto were the lead dogs on Leonhard Seppala’s and Gunnar Kaasen’s teams which helped deliver antitoxin to Nome in 1925 to stem a diphtheria epidemic. In the 1916 All-Alaska Sweepstakes he traveled 410 miles in 80 hours, 38 minutes, and 5 seconds. Diphtheria was called the “strangling angel of children,” because it releases a toxin that shuts down its victim’s windpipe. The dogs were imports from Siberia, a team of huskies that were intended for a polar expedition headed by Roald Amundsen. Quote. After touring, Kaasen sold Balto and the rest of the team to a vaudeville sideshow. But Togo, a new movie that hits the Disney+ platform on December 20, corrects the historical record in favor of an underdog. Unaware of the change, Seppala took a shortcut across Norton Sound in perilous conditions. For all the true dogsledding aficionados out there, we broke down the real history of Togo and Balto’s now legendary run to Nome. "The sled was loaded with several sacks of cement onto which Walden hooked his dog. Apr 19, 2020 - Explore Summer Bentley's board "balto and togo" on Pinterest. Video. In his book, Early Sled Dog Racing in Maine: A Frying Pan of Hot Meat Wrecked My Chances in the First Race, Seppala described how Togo, now in his teens, entered a weight-pull contest against another dog twice his size. Ask. Both dogs were Siberian huskies, a breed brought to Alaska from Siberia by William Goosak, a Russian fur trader. Chinook could not even start the load until Walden had kicked the runners loose from the snow. Balto (1919 – March 14, 1933) was a Siberian Husky and sled dog belonging to musher and breeder Leonhard Seppala. Togo, which stars Willem Dafoe, promises to chart the life of the historically overlooked pup who made the crucial delivery of medicine possible. Enter our story’s hero: Togo, who was already a champion racer by 1925 but whose running days were largely behind him. Just then Kingiak let the chicken clap his wings and Togo was upon him in a couple of jumps with a loaded sled following easily behind. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google, Thanks for signing up! Making a financial contribution to Outside Online only takes a few minutes and will ensure we can continue supplying the trailblazing, informative journalism that readers like you depend on. Ultimately, Seppala and New England musher Elizabeth Ricker chose to open a kennel of Sib… Gunnar Kaasen and Balto in their race to Nome. Togo was 12 years old when he and Seppala were called to assist in the epic rescue effort in 1925. To deliver the antitoxin, more than 20 mushers and 100 dogs carried the medicine from a train line near Fairbanks (where temperatures hovered around minus 50 degrees), along the Yukon River, over a frozen bay, and finally along the Bering Sea coast. (Jan 2, 2020) Due to an editing error, this story has been updated to correct the distributor of the 1995 Balto movie. Though Balto often gets the credit for saving the town of Nome, it was Togo, a Siberian Husky, who led his team across the most dangerous leg of the journey. Viewers of Togo might assume its most cinematic moments are the product of Hollywood’s creative license, but they would be wrong. Bursting with pride, Seppala would later say that his old Togo had never performed better. 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