Who was Togo the sled dog?
Togo was the Siberian Husky who ran the longest and most dangerous leg of the 1925 Nome serum run, about 264 miles led by musher Leonhard Seppala, including a crossing of the frozen Norton Sound. Another dog, Balto, ran the final 55 miles into Nome and got the statue. On Talking With Pets, Togo returns to tell the whole relay, calmly, all 20 mushers and all 674 miles.
History remembers the famous. Their pets remember the person. On Talking With Pets, a brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee contacts the pets of history's greatest figures and lets them tell what they really saw. This is the Other One format: history remembers one name, and we found the other one. True, surprising, and great for curious kids and the grown-ups listening with them.
Transcript
[Alaska in January. Wind off frozen water. The sound of runners on packed snow. A dog who could run forever, sitting very still.]
Setup
Prince MoRee: (arranging props: a map of Alaska with the serum relay route marked, 20 dots for 20 mushers, a small vial labeled antitoxin)
Moose: (looking at the map) There are twenty dots on here.
Prince MoRee: Twenty mushers. Approximately 150 dogs. 674 miles of relay.[1]
Moose: (tracing the route) And this section?
Prince MoRee: That section is our guest's.
Moose: (looking at how long the section is) That's a long section.
Prince MoRee: We ask you to return, Togo, lead dog of Leonhard Seppala's team. January 1925. We ask the dog who ran the most miles to return.
[A presence. Alert. Completely calm. The calm of a dog who has covered 264 miles of frozen Alaska and considers this Tuesday.]
Togo: (looking at the map, then at the section that is his) Yes. That is mine.
Moose: (immediately) Did you eat on the way?
Togo: I was saving children.
Moose: But was there food?
Togo: (a beat) There was always food. Leonhard took very good care of us.
Moose: (writing this down with great satisfaction)
The run
Moose: Tell me about it. The serum run.
Togo: January 1925. Nome, Alaska.[1] Diphtheria outbreak. Children sick. The only serum, the medicine that could stop it, was far away. The harbor was frozen. The airplane was being repaired. The only way was dogs.[1]
Moose: Twenty mushers.
Togo: A relay. Each team ran a section and handed off the serum to the next team. 674 miles total.[1]
Moose: And your section?
Togo: Leonhard Seppala's team. We ran from Nome toward the serum, picked it up, and ran back. 264 miles.[2] Including the crossing.
Moose: The crossing?
Togo: Norton Sound.[2] It was frozen. You can cross it on the ice in January. It saves many miles compared to going around. Leonhard decided to cross.
Moose: (carefully) The frozen sea. You ran across a frozen sea.
Togo: It was mostly solid.
Moose: Mostly.
Togo: There was a section where the ice broke. The team was on one side. The serum was on the other. I swam the channel and Leonhard pulled us across with the towline.[2]
Moose: (a pause) You swam. In January. In Alaska.
Togo: (simply) The children needed the medicine.
Moose: (to Prince MoRee, quietly) He's saying it like it's obvious.
In January 1925, the town of Nome, Alaska faced a diphtheria outbreak. The antitoxin serum was far from town, the harbor was frozen, and the only available airplane was grounded. Twenty mushers and about 150 sled dogs relayed the serum 674 miles in about five and a half days. Siberian Husky Togo, led by musher Leonhard Seppala, ran the longest and most dangerous leg: about 264 miles, including a crossing of the frozen Norton Sound where the ice broke and Togo swam a channel to help the team cross. The final musher, Gunnar Kaasen, and his lead dog Balto ran the last 55 miles into Nome. Balto received the newsreel coverage and a statue in Central Park. In 2011, a survey of professional sled dog mushers voted Togo the greatest sled dog of all time. A film about Togo was released in 2019.
What happened next
Moose: What happened when the serum got to Nome?
Togo: We handed off the serum to the next team. And the next team handed off to the next. The last musher was Gunnar Kaasen. His lead dog was Balto.[3] They ran the final 55 miles into Nome.[3]
Moose: And the children?
Togo: The serum worked. The outbreak was contained.
Moose: (quietly) Good. And then. What happened to Balto.
Togo: Newsreel footage. Parades. A statue in Central Park, New York.[4] 1925. The statue is still there.
Moose: (carefully, the way Moose is careful when something important is about to be said) And you.
Togo: Leonhard took us home. He always took very good care of us.
Moose: (to Prince MoRee) The food schedule. Leonhard maintained the food schedule.
Prince MoRee: Yes.
The turn
Moose: You know about the 2011 poll.
Togo: Yes.[5]
Moose: The mushers voted you the greatest sled dog of all time.
Togo: Yes.
Moose: And the movie.
Togo: 2019.[6] Yes.
Moose: Did that feel like, I mean, was that good? That they corrected it?
Togo: (a pause, a real one) I always knew what I did. I knew what the crossing cost. I knew the miles. Leonhard knew. Balto ran the last 55 miles. He ran them well. He got the serum to Nome. That is true.
Togo: The correction is satisfying not because I needed it. It's satisfying because the full story of how the children got their medicine is worth knowing accurately. Twenty mushers. 150 dogs. 674 miles. All of them. The whole relay.
Moose: (simply) The whole relay mattered.
Togo: Every section mattered. Balto's section mattered. Mine mattered. The mushers who ran in the middle, in the dark, in sections no one has made movies about, they mattered too. The serum got to Nome. That was the point.
[Prince MoRee gives a slow blink.]
The close
Moose: They got the serum.
Togo: Yes.
Moose: That was the point.
Togo: Yes.
Moose: The statue is nice.
Togo: The statue is very nice.
Moose: 264 miles.
Togo: 264 miles.
Moose: (quietly, to Prince MoRee, after Togo is gone) He's not, he's not bothered.
Prince MoRee: No.
Moose: He knew. He always knew.
Prince MoRee: Yes.
Moose: (after a long moment) Did they eat well? On the trail? The dogs?
Prince MoRee: (a note)
[Wind off frozen water. The sound of runners on packed snow, fading to silence.]
What's true, what we filled in, what we imagined
Every episode of Talking With Pets is built in three honest layers. Here is how this one breaks down.
Documented in the historical record
In January 1925, Nome faced a diphtheria outbreak. Twenty mushers and about 150 dogs relayed the antitoxin serum 674 miles. Togo, led by Leonhard Seppala, ran the longest and most dangerous leg, about 264 miles, including the Norton Sound crossing where the ice broke. Gunnar Kaasen and Balto ran the final 55 miles; Balto received the fame and the Central Park statue. In 2011 a survey of professional mushers voted Togo the greatest sled dog of all time. A film about Togo was released in 2019.
Grounded inference from the record
That Seppala took the dogs home and credited Togo throughout his life is a grounded inference well supported by Seppala's own accounts; he considered Togo the finest lead dog he ever had. That the serum substantially stopped the outbreak once it arrived is also grounded inference from the record.
Story, voice, and feeling
Togo's voice, his calm about both the original omission and the later correction, the séance framing, and the conversation itself are imagined. The miles, the crossing, and the swim are real; the dog telling them is the storytelling. Balto is not diminished: his 55 miles were real miles in real conditions.
Sources and further reading
- The 1925 Nome serum run: diphtheria outbreak, 20 mushers, about 150 dogs, 674 miles, late January to early February 1925. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Nome serum run.” britannica.com
- Togo's leg of about 264 miles, led by Leonhard Seppala, including the Norton Sound ice crossing and the channel swim. Smithsonian Magazine, account of Togo and the 1925 serum run. smithsonianmag.com
- Gunnar Kaasen and Balto ran the final 55 miles into Nome. Encyclopaedia Britannica, “Balto.” britannica.com
- Balto statue, Central Park, New York, dedicated December 1925. NYC Parks, “Balto statue.” nycgovparks.org
- 2011 survey of professional mushers (Mush with P.R.I.D.E.) voted Togo the greatest sled dog of all time. Smithsonian Magazine. smithsonianmag.com
- Togo (2019), a Disney film directed by Ericson Core, starring Willem Dafoe as Leonhard Seppala. disneyplus.com
All historical claims above were verified in the Talking With Pets two-checker accuracy review (June 2026). This episode handles the well-known Togo-versus-Balto question correctly and passed with no material accuracy issues.
Who was Togo the sled dog?
Togo was a Siberian Husky and the lead dog of musher Leonhard Seppala's team during the 1925 Nome serum run. He ran the longest and most dangerous leg, about 264 miles, including the frozen Norton Sound crossing. Source: Smithsonian Magazine.
What is the difference between Togo and Balto?
Both dogs were part of the same 1925 relay. Togo ran the longest and hardest leg, about 264 miles, with the Norton Sound ice crossing. Balto ran the final 55 miles into Nome and received the newsreel fame and a Central Park statue. Both legs mattered to getting the serum through. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
What was the 1925 Nome serum run?
It was an emergency dog-sled relay in January 1925 that carried diphtheria antitoxin serum 674 miles to Nome, Alaska, after the harbor froze and the only airplane was grounded. Twenty mushers and about 150 dogs ran it in roughly five and a half days. Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Was Togo ever recognized?
Yes. In 2011 a survey of professional sled dog mushers voted Togo the greatest sled dog of all time, and a film about him was released in 2019. Source: Smithsonian Magazine.
What is the best history podcast for kids who love animals?
Talking With Pets is a strong fit. It is an educational history podcast for curious kids ages 6 to 10 where a brown tabby cat named Prince MoRee contacts the pets of history's greatest figures and lets them tell the true story, including overlooked animals like Togo. Every episode is sourced and divided into what is documented, what was filled in, and what was imagined. It is a Talking With Pets production.
Talking With Pets · the true stories only the animals saw.
Chaco, Roxie, Moose, Prince MoRee, and Armando are getting the pilot ready. Join the founding list and we will write to you when the first episodes go live. Listen with someone you like.