Editing Balto (section)

{{Short description|Alaskan husky and sled dog (1919–1933)}}
{{good article}}
{{About|the sled dog|the 1995 animated film|Balto (film)|the city|Baltimore}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2024}}
{{Infobox animal|name=Balto|species=''[[Canis lupus familiaris]]''|breed=[[Alaskan husky]]|gender=Male|birth_date={{birth date text|1919}}|birth_place=[[Nome, Alaska|Nome]], [[Territory of Alaska]]|death_date={{death date and age|1933|3|14|1919}}|death_place=[[Cleveland, Ohio]], United States|resting_place=[[Cleveland Museum of Natural History]]|resting_place_coordinates={{coord|41|30|42.22|N|81|36|47.57|W}}|nationality=United States of America (Territory of Alaska)|occupation=[[Sled dog]]|known=[[1925 serum run to Nome]]|owner=[[Gunnar Kaasen]]|appearance=Black with white "socks", "bib", and partial white markings on belly and tip of the muzzle, which advanced with age (including white markings around the eyes when he was old). Eyes were dark brown.|namedafter=[[Samuel Balto]]|image=Balto 1925 (cropped).jpg|alt=Balto, a black Alaskan husky, poses while sitting on a sofa, his white feet placed on the sofa's armrest. His face is looking directly in front of the camera.|image caption=Balto, {{circa|1925}}.|image_upright=1}}
'''Balto''' ({{Circa|1919}} – March 14, 1933) was an [[Alaskan husky]] and sled dog bred by [[musher]] and breeder [[Leonhard Seppala]],  who considering him to be "second rate"{{sfn|Salisbury|Salisbury|2003|p=218}} and better suited to hauling freight than to racing<ref>{{cite web |title=The Great Serum Run and Balto's Enduring Legacy |url=https://www.cmnh.org/learn/science-blog/2025/01/23/a-hundred-years-after-the-great-serum-run-baltos-legacy-endures#:~:text=Seppala%20believed%20the%20dog%20was%20better%20suited%20to%20hauling%20freight%20than%20to%20racing |website=www.cmnh.org |language=en}}</ref> and for his lack of necessary speed and endurance.{{Sfn|Ungermann|1963|p=138}} Balto achieved fame when he was reported to have led a team of sled dogs driven by [[Gunnar Kaasen]] on the final leg of the [[1925 serum run to Nome]]. However it was [[Togo (dog)|Togo]], that Seppala had used for 12 years prior to this run in which [[diphtheria]] [[antitoxin]] was transported from [[Anchorage, Alaska]], to [[Nenana, Alaska]], by train and then to [[Nome, Alaska|Nome]] by [[dog sled]] to combat an outbreak of the disease. Balto's [[celebrity]] status resulted in a [[two-reel]] motion picture, a [[Statue of Balto|statue]] in [[Central Park]], and a nationwide tour on the [[vaudeville]] circuit.

When news stories emerged in February 1927 about his poor living conditions, a two-week [[fundraising]] effort in [[Cleveland, Ohio]], led to the successful purchase of Balto and his team by the citizenry of Cleveland. Balto lived in ease at the [[Brookside Zoo]] until his death on March 14, 1933, at the age of 14; his body was subsequently [[Taxidermy|mounted]] and displayed in the [[Cleveland Museum of Natural History]], where it remains to this day. While the subject of numerous cultural depictions and homages, including [[Balto (film)|a 1995 animated film]], Balto's role in the serum run remains controversial as contemporary media coverage focused almost entirely on him over the efforts of the other mushers and dogs—most notably, Seppala and his lead dog [[Togo (dog)|Togo]]—and has more recently undergone historical reappraisals.