Togo the Happy Husky Dog
"Mama, where's my supper?" begged a small furry pup named Togo. The small Siberian Husky climbed
over his mother, Dolly, in search of his bowl.
Gently, his mother moved him off of her and pushed his bowl towards him. "Now, now, Togo. Don't be
such a pest! Honestly, you'd think that because you're the only pup around, we are dealing with
royalty!" Dolly was a good patient mother, which was a good thing because Togo was not always good
and patient. He had a lot of his father's characteristics.
Suggen, Togo's father, was a strong dog who took his job of leading the sled team very seriously. He
encouraged his
only son to take charge and not to back down from anyone, except for Seppala, the dog driver. "Son,
Seppala is a good master and he treats us well. Be sure that you always mind your manners with him!"
Togo didn't have to be told that - next to his mother and father, Seppala was his favorite person.
The small pup loved nothing more than to follow Seppala and get under his feet while he did his
dog yard chores.
One day, when Togo was about 8 weeks old, a man named Victor came to visit. Togo greeted the man as
he entered the yard and then took off to play with the older dogs. When it was time for Victor to
leave, he picked up Togo and said, "You're a feisty little critter, ain'cha? You'll make a good farm
dog; say good-bye to yer parents little one!"
"Mama! Papa! Help me! I don't want to go away, I want to stay here and play and eat and... and..."
"Togo, this man has paid Seppala money for you. You are his dog now, so be sure to do your duties,"
explained Suggen gently.
"No! I won't do it! I don't want to go..." But Togo's cries fell on deaf ears as Victor walked away
with him.
Everyone hoped that Togo would get used to his new home. There were pigs to pester and ducks to
chase, not to mention an old, yellow dog named Jesse to play with. Togo tried to chase the ducks,
but Victor would scold him. He tried to get the pigs to look at him while he dug holes and did
tricks, but they were not interested. "Stupid pigs," muttered Togo," They're not even smart enough
to have any fun - all they want to do is sit in their mud."
Even Jesse was stern with him. "Mind your manners, youngster, or I will nip you on the back!" Jesse
never wanted to play. She just sunned herself on the porch, and then went under the porch when the
sun got too hot.
"This place is no fun at all!" cried Togo. "I miss my mother. I miss the other huskies. I miss the
dog yard!" Togo was not a happy puppy, so he decided to become such a nuisance that Victor would not
want him. He dug holes in the yard and dug up all of the vegetables and flowers. He spilled his
water and food bowls. He sang at the moon all night long. When Victor called for him, he hid in the
barn, or ran away into the forest. "Dat derned dog!" Victor would shout as he stamped his feet. "He's
going' back tomorrow. I'm too old to be chasing pups around!" And the very next day, Victor paid
another visit to Seppala to return Togo.
"I'm back! Hey everyone! I'm back! Aren't you glad to see me? Mama! Papa! Here I am! Come and see
me!" Togo was so happy to be home again that he began to sing and howl and chase everyone he saw.
Suggen scolded him for being such a bad pup to Victor, but was secretly glad to see him again.
Seppala was worried about keeping Togo around. "He's a real handful, and I already have a full team
of dogs. Maybe Togo wants an owner that pays a lot of attention to him. I'll call Mrs. Robinson!"
And so that is how Togo came to his second new home.
Mrs. Robinson was a kind woman who lived in a log house at the edge of the town. She adored Togo and
showered him with attention, food and toys. Togo enjoyed living with Mrs. Robinson, but he couldn't
help missing his old pals back at the dog yard. Whenever he got the chance, he would slip away from
Mrs. Robinson and run back to the dog yard as fast as his puppy legs could carry him. Finally,
Seppala gave in. He agreed to keep the pup, since he was so determined to stay in the dog yard.
Winter soon came to the dog yard, and Seppala began harnessing his dog team and taking short runs. He
had a trapping line to get ready and the dogs had to be strong so they could help him over the long
winter. As the team trained, Togo was permitted to run along with the team.
"Papa!" he would pant as
they ran, "Why can't I be on the team? Look at how fast I can run!"
"Togo, get out of the way! I'm trying to work!" Suggen would scold Togo as he led the team along
the
wintry trails.
Seppala was not happy about Togo being such a pest to the team. In November, he was planning to take
the dogs on a long trek to Dime Creek. It would take 3 days to get there by sled, so Seppala would
take no chances with Togo. He instructed his dog handler to keep Togo in the kennel with the 2 meter
fence. "There's no way that pup will get out of such a high fence," thought Seppala as he and the
rest of the team took off.
Togo did not like being fenced in and howled and cried all day long. Unfortunately for Togo, the dog
handler knew better than to let him out. That evening the handler heard a huge commotion out in the
kennels. He ran out to see what was going on and found Togo caught, upside down, in the fence. The
handler got a pair of wire cutters and cut Togo loose, but before he could put the pup on the
ground, Togo took off into the night!
"Break, team!" called Seppala to the dogs, as they got underway the next morning. "I guess we showed
that Togo who's the boss around here," he thought to himself. The dogs were making good time on the
trail when Seppala saw a fox up ahead. "Whoa," he cried, stepping on the brake. The last thing
Seppala wanted was for the team to take off through the woods, chasing a fox! The fox began to run
towards the team, and the huskies began to sing and howl, lunging in their harnesses towards the
fox. "What kind of dumb fox would run towards a team of huskies?" wondered Seppala, as he tried to
hang on to the team. Suddenly, he realized that he wasn't watching a fox, but it was Togo! The pup jumped up at his
father, and nipped his ear, running away as he always did. To keep Togo from disturbing the team,
Seppala decided to put Togo in the sled. Togo was dismayed, the other dogs began to laugh and
point and Togo began to cry.
"Please don't make me ride in the sled like cargo, Everyone will think that I am weak and that I
am just a sissy dog!" cried Togo to Seppala. But Seppala would not listen, so Togo began to wriggle
and bite the supplies in the sled.
Seppala didn't feel like putting up with
Togo's antics for the rest of the trip, so he finally decided to put the young dog in harness, and
see what he could do. One of the other dogs was concerned about whether such a young pup would be
able to keep up and voiced his opinion on the matter. Togo snapped his head around and looked into the
older
dog's eyes and suddenly he was all grown up. His whining and crying gave way to a deep
throated growl. "Your the one who better keep up or I'll drag your pathetic carcass all the way to
Anchorage and back." he snarled and threw is body into the harness so hard that it almost snapped
the traces.
This was just the chance that Togo was waiting for! He pulled the sled harder than any of the older
dogs, and didn't cause any trouble at all. Seppala was very pleased with Togo when he
realized what a great sled dog he had after all!
The Serum Drive of 1925
Togo turned out to be one of the most famous sled dogs in history. In 1925, he led Leonhard Seppala
and the rest of his dog team on the famous Serum Drive that saved the town of Nome from a diphtheria
epidemic. The nearest point that the serum could be sent to was a village called Nenana (478 km
north of Anchorage).
The serum had to be brought by dog team for the remaining 703 km. Seppala
met up with the other team at the village of Shaktolik, on the eastern
shore of Norton Sound, but the trip across the ice was extremely dangerous. Floating ice could break
off and send a dog team out to sea.
Togo led Seppala and the other dogs across the icy sound and
back again for a total of 547 km. No other relay team completed more than 85 km!
Another driver met Seppala at Cheenik to take over the relay for the last 80 km into Nome. This
driver's name was Gunnar Kasson, who had a few of Seppala's dogs. One of these dogs, Balto, was
Kasson's lead dog. Reporters liked the name of Balto more than that of Togo, and so Balto got most
of the fame and glory in the history books as being the champion of the Serum Drive. A statue of
Balto was erected in Central Park, New York to commemorate the bravery and courage of all the sled
dogs who helped to save the village of Nome.
The inscription reads:
Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs
that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles
over rough
ice,
across treacherous waters, and through arctic
blizzards,
from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome
in the Winter of 1925.
Endurance
Fidelity
Intelligence
Seppala toured Canada and the United States after his famous run. He showed off his
dogs, and participated in many races, winning most of them. This tour helped to introduce the
Siberian Husky to North America and the husky has been a favorite breed ever since the 1930's.
Togo retired to the farm of Mrs. Elizabeth Ricker. His remaining days were spent in complete comfort
and care. He died on December 5, 1929. His body was preserved at the Peabody Museum at Yale
University as part of the Whitney Collection of other famous dogs. It has since been moved to
Wasilla, Alaska to the Iditarod Headquarters.
