Courage, leadership, loyalty–Togo the Siberian Husky had them all, though he started his life as a sickly pup and was then repeatedly rejected for the sled because he was too rowdy.
But Togo showed them all. First, when given away as a pet, Togo jumped through a glass window to return to his musher. There, Togo got in dog fights and repeatedly broke out of his kennel to follow the sled. Finally, at 8 months old, he was given a chance in the team. He was a natural leader.
In 1925, 20 mushers were given the task of relaying diphtheria serum more than 600 miles to Nome, Alaska. The heroic feat was a test for man and beast in January with temperatures at 40 below zero and whiteout conditions. Then 12 years old, Togo led his sled 365 miles round trip across ice, up a mountain, and a swim through ice floes, during which he saved the team's lives.
Although the well-known and also heroic sled dog Balto received most of the fame for completing the last leg of the trip, it was Togo whose work is generally acknowledged as the hardest.
His owner and musher, Leonhard Seppala, was crushed that Togo's feat of courage and endurance was less recognized than Balto's. Seppala and Togo retired to Maine after many wins in the musher world.
