Togo (dog)
Togo the dog
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| Species | Canis lupus familiaris |
|---|---|
| Breed | Siberian Husky |
| Sex | Male |
| Born | October 17, 1913 |
| Died | December 5, 1929 (aged 16) Poland Spring, Maine |
| Resting place | Togo's stuffed and mounted body, displayed at the Iditarod Trail Headquarters Museum in Wasilla, Alaska. Togo's skeleton is mounted separately, and is in possession of the Peabody Museum of Natural History. |
| Occupation | Sled dog |
| Known for | 1925 serum run to Nome |
| Owner | Leonhard Seppala |
| Parents | Suggen x Dolly (Import) |
| Offspring | Togo (II), Kingeak, Paddy, Bilka (and others). |
| Named after | Tōgō Heihachirō |
| Awards | Most Traveled Dog In Alaska, Champion Trophy Winner In Nome, Record of Longest and Fastest run in Serum Drive |
Togo (October 17, 1913 – December 5, 1929) was the lead sled dog of Leonhard Seppala and his dog sled team in the 1925 serum run to Nome across central and northern Alaska.
Togo was one of the offspring of Seppala's former lead dog, "Suggen". He was named after the Japanese admiral Tōgō Heihachirō. Initially, he had not looked like he had potential as a sled dog. He grew to about 48 pounds (22 kg) in his adulthood, which was small compared to the other sled dogs, and had a black, brown, and gray coat that made him appear perpetually dirty.
Togo had been sick as a young puppy and had required intensive nursing from Seppala's wife. He was very bold and rowdy, thus he was seen as "difficult and mischievous", showing "all the signs of becoming a ... canine delinquent" according to one reporter. At first, this behavior was interpreted as evidence that he had been spoiled by the individual attention given to him during his illness. As he did not seem suited to be a sled dog, Seppala gave him away to be a pet dog at 6 months of age.
After only a few weeks as a house pet, Togo jumped through the glass of a closed window and ran several miles back to his original master's kennel. This devotion to the team impressed Seppala, so he did not try to give him away again. However, Togo continued to cause trouble by breaking out of the kennel when Seppala took the team out on runs. He would attack the lead dogs of oncoming teams, "as if ... to clear the way for his master". However, one day, he attacked a much stockier malamute leader and was mauled and severely injured. When he recovered, he stopped attacking other teams' lead dogs. This would eventually prove a valuable early experience, as it was difficult to teach a lead dog to keep a wide berth of oncoming teams.
When Togo was 8 months old, he proved his worth as a sled dog. He had run after the team yet again and slept, unnoticed, near the cabin where Seppala was spending the night. The next day, Seppala spotted him far off in the distance, and understood why his dogs had been so keyed up. Togo continued to make Seppala's work difficult, trying to play with the work dogs and leading them in "charges against reindeer", pulling them off the trail. Seppala had no choice but to put him in a harness to control him, and was surprised that Togo instantly settled down. As the run wore on, Seppala kept moving Togo up the line until, at the end of the day, he was sharing the lead position with the lead dog (named "Russky"). Togo had logged 75 miles on his first day in harness, which was unheard of for an inexperienced young sled dog, especially a puppy. Seppala called him an "infant prodigy", and later added that "I had found a natural-born leader, something I had tried for years to breed"
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