Alaska News

Nome serum run lead dog's bloodline still alive in New York

According to a lengthy story by the New York Times, the bloodline of Togo, the lead dog in Leonhard Seppala's famous 1925 Nome serum run team, is still alive and part of mushing.

The tale begins with Winnie, a direct descendant of Togo, who pulls double duty as a racing dog and a show dog.

Siberan huskies are often called "Slowberians" because they're not as speedy as the huskies of mixed origin comprising most elite Iditarod teams, but Winnie works as a lead dog in races around New York, and she's the top-ranked Siberian husky nationwide when it comes to dog shows. This week, she'll be competing at the Westminster Kennel Club show in Madison Square Garden.

The Times report then moves into the rather depressing story of what happened to Seppala's team after it received international fame for its role in the life-saving effort to carry emergency medical supplies to Nome during a diptheria outbreak:

Read much, much more, here.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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