Togo the Dog: True Hero Behind the Disney+ Movie

In the brutal Alaskan winter of 1925, the remote town of Nome faced a terrifying crisis. A deadly diphtheria outbreak threatened over 10,000 lives, particularly children. Isolated by vast distances and a looming blizzard, Nome desperately needed an antitoxin. The serum was located, but the railway could only bring it as far as Nenana, 674 miles away. Air travel impossible, the only hope lay with teams of sled dogs. This desperate situation set the stage for the legendary “Great Race of Mercy,” a relay involving 20 mushers and their dogs. While history books often highlight Balto, the lead dog of the final leg, the true unsung champion of this incredible feat was Togo The Dog, a Siberian Husky whose story of courage and endurance, largely overlooked for decades, has captivated new audiences thanks to the Disney+ movie bearing his name.

From Unwanted Pup to Sledding Prodigy

Leonhard Seppala, a Norwegian immigrant who arrived in Alaska in 1900, became one of Nome’s most respected mushers, initially working with the larger Alaskan Malamutes common at the time. However, the landscape of sled dog racing began to change with the arrival of Siberian Huskies. These smaller, lighter dogs, first brought by Russian fur trader William Goosak, proved surprisingly formidable, placing third in the 1909 All-Alaska Sweepstakes. English musher Fox Ramsay later imported premium Siberian stock, and an all-Siberian team clinched a record-setting victory in 1910. Seppala recognized the potential of these scrappy dogs.

Togo The Dog was born into Seppala’s kennel in 1913, sired by foundation bitch Dolly. As a puppy, Togo was plagued by health problems and deemed too small and unruly by Seppala, who initially saw little potential in him. Given away to a neighbor, the determined pup hurled himself through a glass window to return home. Stuck with the mischievous husky, Seppala struggled as Togo, though too young for a harness, constantly escaped to run alongside the training teams, even surviving a mauling by larger Malamutes.

Black and white historical photo of Togo the dog, a Siberian Husky, leading Leonhard Seppala's sled team on a snowy Alaskan trail in 1921.

Finally, exasperated, Seppala harnessed the 8-month-old Togo, expecting little. Instead, the young dog ran an astonishing 75 miles that day, instinctively working his way to the lead position. Seppala had inadvertently discovered the exceptional lead dog he had always sought. Togo the dog had found his calling.

The Great Race of Mercy: Togo the Dog’s Defining Moment

Over the next decade, Togo became legendary across Alaska, renowned for his intelligence, stamina, and unbreakable spirit as the leader of Seppala’s team, winning the All-Alaska Sweepstakes three consecutive times (1915-1917). Dog and musher formed an inseparable bond.

When diphtheria struck Nome in January 1925, both Seppala (47) and Togo the dog (12) were considered past their prime. Yet, with lives hanging in the balance, the community knew this experienced pair represented their best chance. A relay was organized to transport 300,000 units of serum the 674 miles from Nenana. On January 29th, Seppala, with Togo leading his team of 20 elite Siberians, set out from Nome into temperatures plunging to -30°F (-34°C) to meet the incoming serum relay. Notably, Seppala left Balto behind, deeming him unprepared for such a demanding task.

Leonhard Seppala poses with six of his Siberian Husky sled dogs, including hero dog Togo (far left), crucial to the Nome serum run, circa 1920s.

Seppala and his team covered over 170 miles eastward in just three days, an incredible pace under punishing conditions. Meanwhile, the situation in Nome grew more desperate, prompting officials to add more teams to the relay, a decision Seppala was unaware of. Taking a perilous shortcut across the frozen, shifting ice of Norton Sound to save critical time, Seppala had a near-miss encounter with Henry Ivanoff, one of the newly added mushers carrying the serum westward. Thanks partly to the dogs’ instincts, the vital handover was made. Now, Seppala and Togo the dog had to race back towards Nome with the lifesaving medicine.

The return journey across Norton Sound proved even more treacherous. The team became stranded on a cracking ice floe separated by five feet of dark, freezing water. Seppala’s only hope was Togo. Tying a lead to him, Seppala threw the dog across the gap. Togo tried pulling the ice floe, but the line snapped. In an extraordinary display of intelligence and calm under pressure, the lead dog retrieved the broken line from the water, wrapped it around his shoulders like a harness, and pulled the team, sled, musher, and precious cargo to safety. After covering an astounding total of 264 miles, far exceeding the average 31 miles of other teams, Seppala and his exhausted dogs handed the serum off in Golovin, 78 miles from Nome. Gunnar Kaasen, using Balto as his lead dog against Seppala’s earlier judgment, completed this final leg, arriving in Nome on February 3rd to a hero’s welcome. The town was saved.

Togo’s Enduring Legacy: Beyond the Serum Run

While Kaasen and Balto received immediate fame and public adoration, including a statue in New York’s Central Park, those involved in the serum run knew the monumental effort undertaken by Seppala and Togo the dog. Seppala later toured the contiguous United States with his heroic dogs. In New England, Togo led Seppala’s team to victory against local Chinooks in what would be his final race.

Touching 1929 photo shows Leonhard Seppala kneeling beside the aging hero Togo the dog during his retirement years in Maine.

Seppala partnered with Elizabeth Ricker to establish a Siberian Husky kennel in Poland Spring, Maine, where Togo the dog lived out his final years peacefully. The legendary dog passed away in 1929 at age 16. The dogs from the Seppala-Ricker kennel, and later Harry Wheeler’s kennel which took them over when Seppala returned to Alaska, became the foundation stock for virtually all registered Siberian Huskies today.

Over time, through the efforts of historians and enthusiasts, Togo’s crucial role gained the recognition it deserved. In 1983, his preserved body was given a place of honor at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Headquarters in Wasilla, Alaska. The famous Iditarod race itself follows parts of the historic serum run trail. Togo also received his own statue in New York City’s Seward Park in 2001 and was featured prominently in the AKC Museum of the Dog’s “Mush!” exhibition.

Preserved taxidermy mount of Togo the dog, the Siberian Husky hero of the Great Race of Mercy, displayed at Iditarod Headquarters in Alaska.

Leonhard Seppala passed away in 1967, aged 89. The Leonhard Seppala Humanitarian Award, given annually at the Iditarod to the musher providing the best dog care, honors his legacy. Reflecting on the “Great Race of Mercy” in his unpublished autobiography, Seppala perfectly captured the essence of Togo the dog‘s contribution: “Afterwards, I thought of the ice and the darkness and the terrible wind and the irony that men could build planes and ships. But when Nome needed life in little packages of serum, it took the dogs to bring it through.”

References & Further Reading

• Thomas, Bob & Pam. Leonhard Seppala: The Siberian Dog and The Golden Age of Sleddog Racing 1908-1941. Pictorial Histories Publishing Co., 2015.
• Salisbury, Gay & Laney. The Cruelest Miles: The Heroic Story of Dogs and Men in a Race Against An Epidemic. W. W. Norton & Company, 2003.
• Ricker, Elizabeth M. Togo’s Fireside Reflections. Publication details vary (originally self-published c. 1928-1930).