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Togo, the unrequited hero of sled dogs

Courage, leadership, loyalty — Togo the Siberian Husky sled dog had them all, but he started his life as a sickly pup, repeatedly rejected for the sled because he was too rowdy.

No one knew it then, but Togo was born to lead a team and, in the end, he proved it.

First, he was given away as a pet. Togo jumped through a glass window to return to his musher. The musher took him back. Togo got in dog fights. Bad news. A dog that fights can’t run in a sled team. Still, Togo wanted to run. He repeatedly broke out of his kennel to follow the sled. Finally, he was given a chance in the team and he shined. Togo was not just a sled dog, he was a team leader.

In 1925, 20 mushers had to relay life-saving diphtheria serum more than 600 miles to Nome, Alaska. The dramatic feat proved a test for man and beast. January temperatures dropped to 40 below zero. Whiteout conditions prevailed. Still, Togo, then 12 years old,  led his sled 365 miles round trip across ice. He pulled the sled up a mountain. Leading  the team, Togo swam through ice floes. His strength and courage saved dog and man in the ice, his musher said.

The well-known and also heroic sled dog Balto — whose statue still graces Central Park — received most of the fame for completing the last leg of the trip. But, it was Togo,  whose impossibly great performance is generally acknowledged as the most heroic.

Togo’s feat of endurance and courage went largely unrecognized. His owner and musher, Leonhard Seppala, was crushed, but still they carried on. Seppala and Togo retired to Maine after many wins in the musher world.