Balto the Sled Dog

A statue of Balto in Alaska (on the internet)

Many people think animals can’t be heroes. Well, for sure they’re wrong, because anyone and anything can be a hero. That’s why I picked Balto as my hero. Balto was a Siberian husky dog who led his dog team, which included Steele, Dixie, Star, Nikki, Kaltag, Sylvie, and Doc, through the harsh winter to save many lives.

In January of 1925, doctors discovered that there was a deadly sickness called Diphtheria. Diphtheria is a serious bacterial infection that causes coughing and pain when swallowing. The sickness started to sweep through Nome, Alaska. The cure for the sickness was serum which was in Anchorage, Alaska, which was almost a thousand miles away. Medication was usually transported by plane but since the planes had been dismantled for the winter, the medicine had to be transported by dog sleds. So, Balto became a hero because he was the dog which actually saved the team, even though he had to carry the medication in whiteout conditions.

The hair and skin from the original Balto

The famous sled dog race, the Iditarod, is actually held in honor of the run to take the diphtheria serum from Anchorage to Nome. Kaasen thought that Balto wasn’t much of a sled dog so, Balto proved him wrong. Balto saved his dog team from death in a Blizzard near the Topkok River, which brought him to fame. After the successful mission Kaasen , and Balto became worldwide celebrities.

I hope the people who think animals can’t be heroes read my article so that they understand that not only people but animals can be heroes.