This past September I gave a presentation at “Poland Spring Heritage Days” for the Preservation Society on the rich history Maine has with the famed Togo and the Seppala Siberian Sleddog. In attendance were two Maine state representatives. The following morning I was invited to a brunch with a former Ivy league college president, a state representative, board members of the State House Museum and the Preservation Society. The subject of this meeting? An effort to honor the breed here in Maine by designating the Seppala Siberian Sleddog as the official Maine state dog breed in 2025- the centennial of their heroic deeds to save the children of Nome, Alaska.
Today I received a call from the vice-president of the Preservation Society, asking me to outline the reasons why Togo’s descendants deserve this distinction from the state of Maine, so that they can share that outline with lawmakers. One state representative has even offered to submit an emergency bill while we are on our 18-20 day Centennial Seppala Expedition, to the end that this great honor might be bestowed while we are out on the same subarctic trails to honor their memory.
So please allow me to briefly outline here who Togo and Seppala were, and why this honor would be altogether fitting for the breed they founded here in Maine.
The story of Leonhard Seppala, his lead dog Togo, and his team of Siberians is the stuff of legends. Children’s books have been written and Disney has made several movies, both animated and live action, to cash in on their heroic tale. The abbreviated tale is this:
In January 1925, during the coldest and darkest days in the low arctic, Leanhard Seppala and his team fought -50F temperatures, blinding blizzards, and crossed miles of broken sea ice- twice- to save the children of Nome, Alaska from a deadly outbreak of Diphtheria. “The End”?
This is usually where the Disney stories end. But that is where Maine picks up the story.
After a grand tour of the lower 48 states in the winter of 1926/1927, Leonhard Seppala, Togo and the team were invited to Poland Spring Resort in Maine to race against famed explorer, Arthur Walden’s team of Chinooks. Despite the team being out of condition due to the lecture circuit they had just ended, Seppala and his Siberians handily beat all the New England competitors, Including New Hampshire’s state dog- the several teams of Chinooks in the race.
After the win, Elizabeth Riccar- owner of Poland Spring Inn and Resort- made an offer that Seppala could not refuse: partner with her to establish the first Seppala Siberian Kennel, right here in Maine.
For the next decade, Seppala and Riccar bred, trained and raced these dogs here in Maine and dominated the race circuit throughout New England and eastern Canada. Including an exhibition race at the 1932 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
The mount of Togo now stands on display in glass at the Iditarod headquarters in Alaska. What few know is that Togo did not die there, but lived out the rest of his heroic life right here in Maine with the rest of Seppala’s Siberians.
For the past 25 years I have carried on the legacy as one of only a handful of kennels of this heritage breed at our Poland Spring Seppala Kennels, here in Maine. Our working dogs are registered purebred descendants of Togo and that original and heroic team of Seppala’s dogs. For the past 4 years I have also served as the president of the International Seppala Siberian Sleddog Club. This January- on the centennial anniversary of their ancestors’ heroic deeds- we will be mushing a Maine bred team of Seppala Siberians on a twenty day expedition across the low arctic, retracing the trail their ancestors took to Nome, Alaska one hundred years ago.
In 2011 Time Magazine named Togo- the wellspring of the Seppala Siberian breed- “the most heroic animal of all time.” Thirteen states have official state dogs. Our neighbor to the west, New Hampshire has honored their legacy by making the Chinook Sled Dog their official state dog. Alaska chose the “Alaskan Malamute” as their state dog.
Simply put, No other breed of dog can lay claim to the distinction of “Official Maine State Dog” with as much history, honor, weight and distinction as the Seppala Siberian Sleddog. I, therefore, wholeheartedly support the effort to make the Seppala the official Maine state dog, and humbly urge you to do all you can to support the effort as well.
Want to help make the Seppala Siberian Sleddog the official Maine State Dog? Email the vice-president of the Maine House Museum, Cynthia Robbins at moc.liamg@idnycisp and they will find a way to put you to work on the effort!
