On this day in 1925, Balto led a team of sled dogs into Nome, Alaska, helping prevent an outbreak. Balto was honored with a Central Park statue a 1995 animated movie. But the real hero may have been Togo the dog, honored his own statue and a 2019 movie.
reported that Parks Commissioner Francis D. Galatin noted it was "a most unique occasion in having a real 'hero' present at the dedication of a monument in his honor, as most heroes have to wait until after they are dead to be honored." Still, the paper reported, Balto appeared "unmoved" by the honor.
"While Balto's likeness is certainly the featured element, the monument as a whole was meant to honorthe sled dogs who participated in the serum run," Miscione told Gothamist. "There were well over a hundred of them, divided into 20 teams. Balto was just the leader of the team that completed the last leg — and frankly, his claim to the role as lead dog is in some dispute.
Following the run, Togo's musher brought all of the dogs to New York City for a publicity tour, and it was Togo who received a gold medal at Madison Square Garden from the Alaskan Society of New York. And you know what? He got a statue, too — it's on the Lower East Side in Seward Park. These very good boys also got the Hollywood treatment much later.