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down from the statue Gunner and Rosie returned to the stage leaving Balto alone. Standing next to his statue Balto threw his head back and howled, his howl echoing through the park, a call filled with pride, I AM HERE COME TO SEE ME.
85 Years later
October 2010 New York City
Fall had come to Central Park, trees were starting to turn and the Wollman Ice ring had been set up. For October it was an unusually warm day, bringing a host of residents and tourist to the park. Among the tourist walked a family from England, a man, woman and a girl. The girl was 21 dressed in a denim skirt and red checked shirt, a hat with a husky’s face on it over her brown hair. A look of utter excitement was on the girls face as they headed in direction of the zoo.
“I think it is this way, I know we have to go under a bridge to get to it,” the girl said looking at her parents.
“Well the sign says zoo this way,” replied her mum looking at the map.
As they walked under a bridge they saw the statue of Balto ahead of them. Instantly a huge smile appeared on the girl’s face. Reaching the statue the girl place her hand on Balto’s paw, her eyes drinking in the sight of the gleaming metal. Taking out her camera she snapped picture of the famous statue. The sunlight shone through the trees, for a moment, bathing the statue in a halo of light.
“Will you take my picture with him?” the girl asking turning to face her parents.
“Of course Laura, climb up next to him,” her Dad replied.
Climbing up next to Balto, Laura put her arms around his neck, smiling with utter joy as her parents took picture.
“Happy to see him at last?” asked her mum.
“Yes, I have wanted to see him since I was seven and I saw the statue in the film,” Laura replied climbing down.
“Well given the money you’ve spend on that pair if plushies, shipping them from America to England he must be special,” her Dad chuckled aware of the importance.
On the ground Laura knelt at the base of the statue, running her hands along the engraving of the sled team.
“Dedicated to the indomitable spirit of the sled dogs that relayed antitoxin six hundred miles over rough ice across treacherous waters through Arctic blizzards from Nenana to the relief of stricken Nome in the winter of 1925 Endurance Fidelity Intelligence.” Laura read running a hand over the words.
Reaching into her bag she drew out a small plastic figure of a brown cartoon wolf. Gently she placed the figure in front of statue, just in front of the engraved name BALTO. Taking out her camera she took a picture of the two, before placing the figure at edge of the plaque, just in front of the lead dog.
“I couldn’t bring my Balto plush with me so I decided to bring my Balto figure instead,” Laura said turning to her parents.
“Finally seeing the statue means so much to me. I think when I get home I’ll write a story about Balto coming here to see his statue unveiled.”
Climbing back up onto the statue Laura placed one arms around Balto while holding her Balto figure in her other hand, standing in the same spot that Balto had years before.
This final part is my visit to Balto’s statue. The picture on the front cover is one I took, the one I described as a halo of light. This very story was inspired by my visit, the one I told my parents I would write. Balto’s statue stands as a monument to him and a special place for all Balto fans.
Balto: Endurance, Fidelity, Intelligence.
[1]The musher who drove the sled team
[2]A real ship that sailed to and from Nome. Type Alaska’s digital archives into Google, then S.S. Victoria to see pics. Site is great for pics of Nome
[3]He is the pup from WQ with the red strip on his nose
[4]Pup’s first being Rosie’s house where they were born, second being with people who adopted them in WQ
[5]Rosie can understand animals speech, detail of why/how in my other fic Light of the North
[6]Can anyone guess the fellow Animation Source film referred to hear?
[7]Guess which fellow Animation Source dog he is?
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