AMAZING TRUE STORY
In 1921 15,000 people in the U.S. died of Diphtheria. To survive this disease doctors administered an “antitoxin” medication. Some remote places in the U.S. could not get the antitoxin quickly enough to save lives.
Alaska was one of those states with remote areas that struggled to get the antitoxin. In 1925 the disease hit the town of Nome. This is a true story of a dog who saved the townspeople of Nome!
DOG SLEDS
At the time, the only mode of transportation was husky dogs pulling sleds over the snow and ice. Today life is much easier, many types of transportation are available.
In these remote towns temperatures drop well below zero, dipping down to -62.2 degrees Celsius! Siberian husky dogs are bred to withstand very cold temperatures down to -51 degrees Celsius. Although these amazing dogs must still have warmth to recover from exposure to the extreme cold.
SIBERIAN HUSKY
The antitoxin was desperately needed! Their doctor, Dr. Curtis Welch, stated that the medication had to rich Nome in six days or less. Otherwise, due to the extreme cold, the antitoxin would not be effective.
An Alaskan husky called Balto is the hero of this true story. In addition, he belonged to no one and was often seen wandering alone the wicked cold streets of Nome. Mushers who sought a lead dog for their sled teams overlooked Balto.
SCRUB DOG
For instance, twenty teams of mushers were organized when the diphtheria tragedy hit this small town. The much needed medication was 674 miles away in Anchorage. Today, a flight would take only 1.5 hours to make the trip. Moreover, in 1925 sled dogs took several days to make the same journey.
The first team picked up the antitoxin serum and traveled to the next team to hand it over. However, this continued at great personal loss to the teams. Many lost dogs along the way, drivers lost body parts to the extreme cold.
THE LAST STRETCH
Subsequently, each team pushed the limits of man and dog to get the serum in time to Dr. Welch. A man named Gunnar Kaasen chose Balto to lead his team of dogs. As a result, Kaasen completed the last leg of the journey, 53 miles to Nome.
Balto was considered to be a scrub dog by the townspeople. This brave dog led a team of dogs through a blizzard and extreme cold to complete the journey 20 mushers had started. Above all, temperatures -62 degrees Celsius, Balto got the antitoxin serum just in time to Dr. Welch.
A HERO
Consequently, the journey is known as the Great Race of Mercy. Balto went from scrub dog to hero! Twenty mushers made the journey and got the serum to Nome in 5 ½ days (127.5 hours)!
Kassen with his lead dog Balto arrived on February 2nd at 3:00 am. In conclusion, a statue was erected of Balto in Central Park, New York City. Similarly, Balto can be seen at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. Balto passed away, March 14th, 1933 at a ripe old age of 14.
Who doesn’t love a happy ending and this amazing hero, Balto the scrub dog!
References
https://www.jojostories.com/animals/husky-scrub-dog-saved-an-entire-alaskan-town-from-certain-death/
Images by: Balto/Wikipedia, & Pixabay