Are you familiar with Balto the hero dog, or have you watched the movie?

In this article, let me show you how Balto saves hundreds of people, well of course with the help of many dogs and their mushers.

In the year 1925, an epidemic outbreak happened in a small place called Nome, an isolated place that is far from civilization. The disease is called diphtheria, which can lead to the death of all people in that place if remained uncured. The cure for the disease will come from Anchorage which is 2000 km from Nome. Planes and boats cannot transport due to the bad weather condition. So what they do was to look for a close place, from which they can pick up the medicine as soon as possible.

Upon looking at the map, they found Nenana, a place that is close and connected to the rail tracks of Anchorage. But this doesn't solve the problem yet, though this shortens the wide gap of the place from Nome, they still need to travel almost 1000 km to reach the place. This travel is well known as "The great race of mercy" or "The 1925 Serum run to Nome."

People of Nome created a group that involves more or less 150 dogs and 20 persons. They need to travel as fast as they could because the serum or the cure should not be exposed longer to the cold weather. It can be damaged and would not be as effective as it should be. The weather in that place is way below the freezing point. To set it into perspective, the temperature needed to create ice from water is only 0°C, while the temperature there is -50°C, let that sink in.

Their travel started on January 25, 1925, led by Shannon also known as Will Bill. The first part of their journey went well, it went smoothly according to plan. But later on, the weather worsens. The dogs pull the sled alternately, in other words, shifting schedule. Some dogs will pull the sled while the other walk. They also divided their group in order to return to Nome sooner. In each sled, the musher chooses one dog that serves as the leader to be followed by other dogs.

On their journey, many dogs could not endure the severe cold weather and die. Also, most of the mushers suffered from frostbite in different parts of their bodies.

Eventually, Will Bill successfully arrived at Nenana. Now, what he needs to do is to go back with the cure. Just like I said, they divided their group so that they can return to Nome quickly. After getting the cure, it is passed on to Leonhard Seppala, a skilled musher and a resident of Nome. His journey relies on the dog named Togo. Togo plays a huge part in this story, so it is important to remember his name.

Leonard Seppalla and Togo's portion of journey was the most dangerous path, like treacherous mountains, seas, cliffs, and the likes. They also passed on to the "Little McKinley" mountain until they reached the station where Charlie Olson awaits. After Charlie, it will then passed on to Gunnar Kaasen. The last musher who will bring the serum to Nome and his dog's name is Balto, our star in this story.

Even before "The great race of mercy" began, Balto is not popular because he seems to be lazy and sleeps most of the time. So it is very unlikely that Balto will be chosen as the leader of the sled.

But this changes in 1925 when Kaasen chooses Balto to be the leader of their sled. He trusts Balto and he can feel that this time, Balto will be able to showcase his strength and ability to become a leader. And they truly succeed. They successfully brought the cure to Nome and stop the epidemic outbreak in their small town. Because of this, the story of Balto spread and made him famous.

Today, the City of New York build a statue of Balto to remember his bravery and heroism. And in 1995, they made an animated movie about his journey.

Balto died in 1933 at the age of 14 years old. His remains can be found in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, well-preserved to commemorate his heroism.

Now, let's go back to Togo, like I told you earlier, Togo plays a huge part in Balto's story. Although many people honored Balto as a hero, some people thought that Togo should be the hero. Because he has traveled the longest and the most dangerous path on that journey. To be precise, he had traveled almost 500km or almost half of the whole journey, while Balto has only traveled 100km.

Balto was the last dog who brought the cure/serum to the town, so they treated him as a hero. They hadn't seen the other dogs who also took part in that journey. Dogs who risk their lives for the journey to be successful.

Anyway, I think what's most important is how people unite, trust, and love their fellowmen. And also to their dogs who were with them on the journey. Dogs who followed their owner's command even though it will cost their lives.

Togo has also a movie titled "Togo" starring Willem Dafoe as Leonhard Seppala. I personally love this movie and watched it many times.

Here's a quick fact about Togo;

As a puppy, Togo developed a painful throat disorder that caused Seppala to lose interest in him. ... Balto ran 55 miles, while Togo's leg of the journey was the longest and most dangerous. Togo retired in Poland Spring, Maine, where he was euthanized at the age of 16. Following his death, Seppala had Togo custom mounted.

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