Seppala's easy choice had been his older, trusted leader, a small, tough husky called Togo. He was a Siberian husky with a black, brown and gray coat, and he weighed less than 50 pounds.

Togo, the lead dog of Leonhard Seppala’s team, played a crucial role in this heroic mission. Togo spent his final years at Poland Spring Resort, solidifying the breed’s connection to Maine.

Togo retired to Poland Spring, and today, the Seppala Siberian Sleddog breed, including Hayes’s dogs, traces its lineage to him and his teammates. Hayes designed his 2021 solo expedition to cover ...

Leonhard Seppala with his sled dogs, ca. 1925. Togo (far left) and Seppala are the subject of the film Togo, which chronicles the oft-misreported 'serum run' of 1925.

TOGO IN MAINE. When Seppala came to Maine in 1927, two years after the famed life-saving trip, it was a colder, snowier place than it is today. “Back then, we had real winters,” Robbins said.

Seppala, who died in 1967, never forgot Togo and the bond they shared. For 12 years, the pair acted as one as they traversed the Alaskan wilderness, whether in races, for work or to save lives.

The Seppala Siberian Sleddog (right) is a dog breed descended from one of the most famous sled dogs in history, Togo, who has been immortalized with a statue in Poland Springs, Maine.

Togo and his owner, musher Leonhard Seppala, in 1927 George Rinhart / Corbis via Getty Images The temperature hovered around freezing in New York’s Central Park on December 15, 1925. Clad in a ...