Random True Story Behind 'Balto' Is Even More Intense Than Animated Film (14 items)

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  (#1) A Diptheria Outbreak in 1925 Threatened Balto's Home Town Of Nome, AK 

  In January 1925, several children in Nome, AK contracted the respiratory disease diphtheria. People feared the illness since the bacteria was highly contagious and deadly. Though the town's only doctor quarantined the children, he feared other residents might become infected since the disease spread quickly.

  To make matters worse, the nearest supply of antitoxin serum resided in Anchorage, AK, over 1,000 miles away. Travel by airplane wasn't an option in subzero temperatures, and ice in the harbor counted out boats.

  The people of Nome turned to an older method of travel, one used to deliver mail for years: the dog sled. 
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  (#2) Dogs And Mushers Braved Extreme Weather To Get The Serum Home Safely

  A dog sled team would need to journey for weeks to retrieve the serum. To combat exhaustion, the townspeople decided to set the operation up as a relay. One team picked up the serum from a checkpoint where the previous team could then rest. Over 20 mushers helped out on the project.

  The first team, led by "Wild Bill" Shannon, picked up the 20-pound package containing the serum. He and his team traveled 52 miles through minus-60-degree weather, just fast enough that his dogs' lungs wouldn't develop frost.

  Leonhard Seppala and lead dog Togo took over next, completing the longest chunk of the journey at 91 miles. Seppala decided to take a shortcut, traveling over slippery ice in minus-85-degree temperatures and winds that threatened to blow them off course. They made it safely to the next musher, though, who eventually handed the package off to Gunnar Kaasen and his lead dog, Balto. 

  For an ordinary postal service, a trip like this could take up to 25 days, but thanks to the mushers, the serum made it to Nome in less than six.
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  (#3) Despite Being Inexperienced, Balto Took Lead Of The Second-To-Last Team

  Scheduled to be the second-to-last team to transport the serum, Kaasen, Balto, and the team's other 12 dogs found themselves in a powerful snowstorm shortly into their journey. The serum was almost lost after an 80 mph gust of wind flipped the sled and the package tumbled into a snowbank.

  Balto had never led a team before and had to rely on scent rather than sight because of the heavy snow storms. After an issue with the planned final team, Kaasen's decided to finish the relay himself. In February 1925, Balto, Kaasen, and the rest of the group reached Nome after traveling 53 miles.

  Although four dogs died during the operation, the doctor lifted the quarantine three weeks later thanks to the speedy serum delivery.
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  (#4) A Movie Producer Invited Balto To Hollywood To Star In Films

  The media followed the relay, and Balto quickly became a national hero. But Balto's owner, Leonhard Seppala, felt the admiration was misplaced, considering over 150 other dogs also participated, including his dog Togo, who completed the longest part of the journey.

  Despite this, Seppala allowed Gunnar Kaasen to take Balto and his team to Hollywood where producer Sol Lesser backed a 30-minute film called Balto's Race to Nome which featured the new canine star.
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  (#5) The Real Balto Was Not Part Wolf And Wasn't Considered An Ideal Lead Sled Dog

  In the animated film, Balto is half wolf; the real Balto was a Siberian husky, thought to be born sometime in 1919. Balto had a black coat with a patch of white on his chest and paws.

  Though the real Balto didn't live his life as an outcast, people did not consider him an ideal lead sled dog. Balto's barrel chest and boxy build made him very strong, however, so Seppala gave him work as a member of the sled team for miners.

  When it came time to make the serum run, Seppala chose Togo as his lead dog, while Gunnar Kaasen gave Balto a chance.
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  (#6) Balto Traveled Across The Country In A Vaudeville Show

  After the film premiere, Gunnar Kaasen took Balto on tour across the entire country. For nine months, Balto and a few of his teammates joined the vaudeville circuit, allowing people across the United States who read about the story in the paper to see the famous dog in person.

  Following the tour, Kaasen and Balto attended the unveiling of a statue dedicated to the dog in New York City, which still stands in Central Park.
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  (#7) Balto And His Team Ended Up Neglected In A Sideshow Museum 

  Eventually, Balto and his team ended up in a sideshow in Los Angeles where patrons could pay a dime to view them. Balto and the other dogs were neglected, abused, and trapped in the sideshow museum until another prospective buyer came along.
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  (#8) A Businessman Raised Money To Save Balto From The Sideshow

  In 1927, a businessperson named George Kimble discovered Balto in the sideshow. The situation he found the dogs in appalled Kimble, who asked the sideshow owner if he could purchase Balto and his team. The owner agreed to sell the dogs for $2,000. 

  Kimble returned to Cleveland and began a campaign to raise money with the help of the Cleveland Plain Dealer newspaper. Children, local shops, waitresses, and factory workers all helped by donating what they could. The Western Reserve Kennel Club and the Animal Protective League also supported the cause, along with a local judge.

  Kimble's benefit managed to raise $2,300 in just 10 days, and he rescued Balto and the other dogs. 
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  (#9) Balto Found A Welcoming Home At The Cleveland Zoo

  After George Kimble purchased Balto and the other dogs from the sideshow, he brought them to Cleveland, where the townspeople threw a parade to celebrate the rescued heroes. Balto finished the parade at the Cleveland Brookside Zoo, now called the Metroparks Zoo, where he lived out the rest of his days.

  About 15,000 people visited the dogs on their first day at their new home. 
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  (#10) Sled Dogs Like Balto Inspired The Famous Iditarod Race

  Balto and the other sled dogs of his day traveled what came to be known as the Iditarod trail, which runs about 1,150 miles from Anchorage, AK, to Nome. Once used by settlers, the path also allowed for the delivery of mail and other supplies. 

  By the 1960s, dog sleds had become less popular than snowmobiles, also known as "iron dogs."

  In 1967, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Alaska becoming a US territory, people began considering a way to preserve this culture. They proposed a dog sled race that traveled the Iditarod Trail, reconstructing the route run by Balto. The race has been held annually since 1973.
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  (#11) Balto's Statue Still Stands In New York's Central Park

  In December 1925, the city of New York unveiled a statue of Balto in Central Park. Fredrick Roth created the bronze image of Balto with a plaque below that reads:

  Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin 600 miles over treacherous waters, through arctic blizzards, from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925 - Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence.
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  (#12) Visitors Can See Balto At The Cleveland Natural History Museum 

  After Balto's death, the Cleveland Brookside Zoo gave his body to the Cleveland Natural History Museum. To keep his memory alive, his body was stuffed and mounted. The museum created an enclosed display for Balto so people could visit him.

  The Cleveland Brookside Zoo, meanwhile, erected a bronze monument that pays tribute to both Balto and fellow dog sled hero, Togo.
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  (#13) People In Alaska Want To Display Balto At A Local Iditarod Museum

  In the '90s, a group of children in Alaska wanted their beloved hero to come home. They put together a campaign attempting to persuade the Cleveland Natural History Museum to give them Balto to display at the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race Museum located in Wasilla, AK.

  The people of Cleveland refused, reasoning Balto spent half his life living in their city.

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