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wow, that's really cool. I would love to have all those dogs! So, did Seppala actully live in Nome? Where any of these dogs other than Togo and Fritz on the Serum Run?

Well, this photo mentions that these are his summer kennels. So it's possible that (for whatever reason) in the winter he lived closer to Nome, or in Nome itself (I guess the winters were harsher in Cape Horn than on the shore of Norton Sound...which means they must have been REALLY harsh!).

Certainly when Seppala first came to Nome, around the turn of the century, he would have started off living in Nome while he worked for the Pioneer Mining Company, owned by his Norwegian friend Jafet Lindberg (one of the "Three Lucky Swedes"). As he settled in, he probably was able to fund a home of his own. He may have lived with someone, or in lodgings, before that.

I will have to research that...but some of the links I provided about Leonhard Seppala may answer that.

As to whether or not any of those dogs were involved in the Serum Run, it is very possible. This photo was not taken too many years before the Serum Run, and most of the dogs used on the second half of the run were Seppala's, or offspring of Seppala's dogs.

wow cool pics never new how important huskies were until i learned about togo and balto wow how did you find all those cool pics

Okay friends. Here, for your enjoyment, is a running display of every photo of Togo currently in my possession...with what information I do have on some of them. Pretty much most of these were taken just AFTER the Serum Run, when Leonhard Seppala doubtless wanted to gain Togo whatever notice he could in the face of all the fame Balto was getting (which upset him terribly...even though Balto was also one of his dogs).

You'll note where the photographer, utilizing information no doubt provided to him by Seppala himself, wrote notes on the photo for posterity, and later identification (perhaps for the newspapers).


This is perhaps THE most famous picture of Togo...standing a short distance from his team just after the Serum Run. That's Seppala on the sled in the background, and almost certainly Fritz (Togo's half-brother) on the other end, in the co-lead position (a common practice on large teams...one is THE lead dog, the other is like a "second in command").


Here, sadly, is probably the WORST photo of Togo, with Seppala. Just a bad pose I guess.


Another pose, and a more tender one, with his best buddy and owner, Leonhard Seppala. Seppala LOVED Togo, and kept him close. Togo, as you can see here, was small for his breed...probably only topping out at barely 50 pounds. And yet, Seppala saw in him the potential of a great leader...which he more than justified.


Another example of Togo's relatively small size. My own Australian Shepherd dog, Milo, is only 8 months old, and already he's as big as Togo in this picture (remembering, too, that Seppala was five-foot-nothing in height...and I am like 6'3"...lol). And Togo was 12 years old that year. That coat, incidentally, which Seppala is wearing in the photo is his signature coat...which he wore on the serum run.


Togo (above) and some of the team (with Fritz at left). Here you can see how you may identify Togo from other dogs owned by Seppala (which looked almost like him). You look for Togo's nicked, or bent, right ear. Perhaps it's an old injury...or an abnormality from birth. Or the remnant of an old argument with another dog.


This photo demonstrates the general look of Seppala's dogs. He used dogs of the Chukchi tribe's stock. They were a Siberian Inuit tribe known for using small, fast dogs to pull sleds. Thus the term "Siberian Husky". This wasn't the official breed name at the time. There WAS none. "husky" was a generic term used, at the time, to refer to ANY dog which pulled on a sled team...and could include the mixed-breed Alaskan Husky and other dogs from various parts of the world. The "Siberian Husky" was not officially recognized as an independent breed until the thirties...after Togo's death. Though it was Togo and Fritz who were both key players in the development of the breed...and that is still recognized today by most Siberian Husky breeders and mushers.


Togo posing.


Another shot of Togo "sitting pretty" in pose.


Here's a shot of Togo and some of his team members posing for a photo during the U.S. tour. Togo's the dog sitting with his forelegs crossed (note the ear again), and it's possible that Fritz is the dog lounging back behind him.


Here's my favorite shot of Togo. A beautiful pose, and a beautiful (er, "handsome") dog! Very regal!


Perhaps the most amazing shot...this shows Togo back in Nome (I corrected this from what I said earlier. The stamp on the photo, just barely visible at bottom right, is of "Lomen Brothers" photographers...which were a Nome-based business). He is seen with the many awards won by he, Seppala and his teams during the Alaska Sweepstakes races of the years before the Serum Run (including three first-place wins), and also the medal presented to Togo by explorer Roald Amundsen at Madison Square Garden, New York City, to honor his part in the Great Serum Run. Amazing!