Have you ever heard of the 1925 Nome Serum Race? Togo was the lead dog of a team of sled dogs led by Leonhard Seppala who had to run more than 400 meters in just a few days and in temperatures as low as -65°C in order to bring diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, the only drug that could save the population.
Who was Togo?
You have probably all heard of balto, a dog that became famous for bringing diphtheria antitoxin to Nome, or you will have seen a movie or a story about him, or if you have been to New York you will have seen his statue in Central Park with the legend “Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the dogs of sledge that carried the serum over the rough ice through the treacherous waters past arctic blizzards, from Nenana to give relief to afflicted Nome during the winter of 1925.”
It could be said that in the world of dogs it also happens that it is someone else who has taken the credit for the feat. Of course, Balto was a great dog, he was the first to enter Nome with the medicine and was the leader of the sled dog team that day, but here comes the dilemma, Balto only ran the last 50 km while Togo did 480 km to bring medicine to Nome.
With this clarified, let’s start talking about the endearing story of Togo in his childhood until he became a hero for so many people who could have died if he did not lead the sled dog team. They say that people tend to humanize dogs and add values, thoughts or feelings that they don’t really have. Today I can only echo the story that runs and circulates about Togo.
Togo was one of the descendants of Suggen, former leading dog of Leonhard Seppala. Leonhard was the one who trained Togo from childhood and who was on the sled that Togo pulled like the rest of the team (whose names we do not know), so he was also exposed to those 480 km in a few days and terrible temperatures .
At first Seppala had seen that Togo had no potential to be a sled dog, was of little size and weight, at the same time that in his first months he had been ill. This disease caused him to receive individual care from his wife and Seppala believed that Togo’s character could have been affected by this difference in treatment, he seemed too mischievous and with a difficult character to be a sled dog but yes which could be a perfect companion for a family.
Thus, at 6 months old Seppala gave him away to a family to be a companion, a pet for them. What happened? That as soon as he could, Togo jumped out of the new family’s window and made it all the way back, a few miles, to Seppala’s house. Clearly, this gesture by Togo caused them not to give him away again and to look at him with new eyes, since he showed great loyalty to the Seppala family, both dog and human.
Despite this, Togo’s character was still a bit different from what was expected of a sled dog. For example, they say that attacked the leading dogs of the other teams sledding as they approached, they say it was as if he wanted to clear the way for Seppala. Finally, as could be prevented, one day he messed with the wrong person and a much beefier dog leader left him seriously injured. After the recovery it seems that Togo learned that he should not mess with the leaders of other teams.
Once Seppala left with his sled team to run an errand, Togo with only 8 months he escaped and ran after them. He went to sleep near the hut where they spent the night and Seppala discovered him the next morning, in the distance. Togo was distracting the dogs and leading them against the reindeer, so Seppala decided there was no other way to deal with him than to put him in the sled harness, and to his surprise, Togo immediately calmed down.
It was in this return race that Seppala could see the potential of Togo, as as the race progressed he also increased his position in the bobsled team. On that first day of racing as a sled dog he had run 75 miles, which was also unusual for such a young and inexperienced dog. This meant that Seppala saw him as a wonder puppyin his words «I had found a born leadersomething I had been trying to breed for years.”
After this, Togo was part of the training and in a few years he ended up occupying the place of leading dog, being one of the most appreciated by Seppala, «I never had a better dog than Togo. His stamina, loyalty, and intelligence couldn’t be bettered. Togo was the best dog to ever walk the Alaskan Trail.”
As for the famous race to bring the antitoxin, they had to go to Anchorage from Nome, in a winter of very low temperatures (wind chill of minus 60 degrees). They made a very complex journey, in conditions in which it was not known if they would be able to return since there was hurricane air, the ice that could break at any moment, the difficulty in being able to see, so many kilometers in so few days, the impossibility to being able to sleep and rest… Togo led the sled and even Seppala in one of the most difficult moments because absolutely nothing could be seen and he saved everyone’s life. It was a historic and heroic race that could have had a tragic outcome.
After 480 km, 55 km from reaching Nome, I was waiting for them Kaansen with the B team of Seppala’s dogs led by Balto. Seppala handed him the medicine and it was they who took all the credit for entering the village.
At this time, Togo was 12 years old and had worked 7 years as a guide dog. Finally, he was sacrificed on December 5, 1929 to the 16 years old and that same day headlines appeared in the most important newspapers honoring his memory and receiving a multitude of praise. Seppala had him stuffed and today it is in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters museum in Wasilla, Alaska, while his skeleton is in the Peabody Museum of Natural History at Yale University.
Movies about Togo
Disney+ has created the movie “Togo”, where it tells the true story of this dog that marked the lives of many people. We leave you the trailer of the original version subtitled in Spanish: