Maine Memory Network

Togo (1913-1929) was a Siberian Husky dog bred by Leonhard Seppala (1877-1967). Born in Norway, Seppala moved to Alaska during the gold rush where he worked as a dog sled driver. His first sled team came from Siberia—thus the name Siberian Husky— originally imported for Polar explorer Roald Amundsen. Seppala trained and grew his team and in 1915, began a streak of winning sledding races.

Togo was not Seppala’s first pick for lead sled dog. Born with an illness, Togo required care from Seppala’s family. Perhaps because of his intimacy with humans, Togo became what Seppala called, “rowdy and mischievous,” poor qualities for a sled dog, so he gave Togo away at age six months. After only a few weeks away from Seppala, Togo jumped through the glass of a closed window and ran several miles back to Seppala’s kennel. This devotion to the team impressed Seppala, and he kept the dog. Another day, when Togo was eight months old, he broke out of his kennel to run alongside the sled team, causing chaos for Seppala. Eventually Seppala tied Togo to the sled, where he worked his way up to the lead dog, when he was just a puppy. Seppala said of Togo, "I had found a natural-born leader, something I had tried for years to breed."

---

Hero dogs in the Great Race of Mercy

Seppala and his Siberian Huskies gained fame in 1925, when over twenty sled teams ran a 675 mile relay to deliver diphtheria vaccines during an outbreak in isolated Nome, Alaska. Seppala reported in his biography that his team, led by twelve-year-old Togo, traveled 340 miles during the run. While Togo and Seppala navigated the majority of relay run, the dog Balto and musher Gunnar Kaasen received credit for the delivery, having executed the last 53 miles of the trip.

After gaining recognition for their part in the 1925 Nome Serum Run, Leonhard Seppala and a team of his Siberian Huskies, including Togo, left Alaska and embarked on a national tour. Sled dog enthusiast Arthur Walden established the New England Sled Dog Club in 1924. Seppala's tour included New England, and in January 1927, while at the Poland Spring, Maine, race, Seppala's Siberians, led by Togo, won.

---

Poland Spring and Elizabeth Ricker

After winning the New England races, the Huskies gained instant popularity in Maine. At Poland Spring, Seppala met the resort’s owner and mushing enthusiast Elizabeth Ricker (1900-1991). Together, they established the first breeding kennel in the lower 48 states at Poland Spring, to supply Seppala’s Siberian Huskies to the racers in New England. The Poland Spring Seppala Kennel bred as many as 160 dogs, though they only registered eight with the American Kennel Club.

Togo was a charismatic dog, noted for his damaged right ear. Seppala was committed to Togo, saying, "I never had a better dog than Togo. His stamina, loyalty and intelligence could not be improved upon. Togo was the best dog that ever traveled the Alaska trail." Ricker documented Togo’s life and personality when she wrote and published a book, Togo’s Fireside Reflections, in 1928, printed by the Lewiston Journal. Ricker dipped Togo’s paw in ink to “autograph” selected books.

---

Togo's Legacy

When Seppala returned to Alaska in March 1927, he left Togo in Maine, concerned that the trip would be difficult for the elder dog. It was the first time in twelve years that they were separated, with Seppala saying,

It seemed best to leave him where he could be pensioned and enjoy a well-earned rest. But it was a sad parting on a cold gray March morning when Togo raised a small paw to my knee as if questioning why he was not going along with me. For the first time in twelve years I hit the trail without Togo.

Togo lived to sixteen years old with the Ricker family, dying in 1929. At age eighty-one, Seppala continued to think about Togo, and wrote in his 1958 diary,

The end of the course seems pretty smooth, with downhill going and a warm roadhouse in sight. And when I come to the end of the rail, I feel that along with my many friends, Togo will be waiting and I know that everything will be all right.

After Togo’s death, Elizabeth Ricker published a book, Seppala: Alaskan Dog Driver, in 1930, and by 1931, the Poland Spring Seppala Kennel partnership ended.

Friendly URL: https://www.mainememory.net/exhibits/Togo