022 The State Dog of Maine

Recently, Maine passed legislation naming the offical dog breed of the state. Join us as we explore a statue of the dog that inspired this move and discover an Alaskan connection.

Transcript

Hey Pedestal Peeps! Welcome back to the New England on a Pedestal podcast with me, Doug Farquharson. In this mini-sode we will be staying in the same state as we found last episode’s Andre the Seal. That’s right! We’re still in Maine! That’s because the other day, I caught a news article dated May 1st on WMTW’s app. They’re a TV station out of Portland. The headline read “Seppala Siberian Sleddog becomes Maine’s official state dog through legislation.” It seems that on April 10th the Maine House of Representatives passed legislation that then went before the State Senate where it passed a few days later. The bill was then enacted without the governor’s signature shortly thereafter. So how did this come about and why do we here at New England on a Pedestal care?
For that answer, we have to go back about one hundred years and travel a bit outside of New England. Let’s go to Alaska! You may recall hearing stories about the 1925 Great Serum Run where sled dog teams were used to bring life saving medication to the Alaskan Gold Rush town of Nome. Also known as the Great Race of Mercy, it was organized to help fight a deadly diphtheria outbreak that had sickened hundreds and hundreds of men, women, and children and threatened the whole city. Many, many deaths were attributed to the outbreak. Several different sled dog teams were used but the two most famous were led by dogs named Balto and Togo. Balto is arguably the more famous of the two as he led the final 53 mile stretch into Nome. Togo, a twelve-year-old Siberian Husky led his owner, Leonhard Seppala, over the longest and most difficult stretch of the route. While the other teams covered distances that averaged 31 miles, Seppala and Togo covered an incredible 264 miles through blizzard conditions.
A couple years after the famous trek, Seppala and Togo moved to Maine where he opened a kennel with Elizabeth Ricker of Poland Springs. She adopted him and Togo spent the last four years of his life living there and breeding the beginning of what would become known as Seppala Siberian Sleddogs. Not a bad retirement gig if you ask me!
There’s a small museum dedicated to Togo’s amazing Alaskan feat as well as his years spent in his new home in Maine. In 2011, he was named the most heroic animal of all time by Time Magazine and a movie starring Willem Dafoe in 2019 by Walt Disney Pictures captured his story. In 2022, The Poland Springs Resort, unveiled a life sized, bronze statue of the famous dog. The resort owner, Cyndi Robbins’ own dog Saywer is a direct descendant of Togo and she had been fascinated by his story for years. She spearheaded the effort to dedicate the statue and help share the amazing story and the later connection to Maine. “You can imagine that dog being alive,” she said while viewing the statue during a TV interview. “This dog is credited for saving a town of 10,000 plus people.”  The statue, sitting atop a granite slab is by Maine artist David Smus, S-M-U-S, is very life-like. Wearing a harness, he looks like he’s very excited to hook up to the lead and guide his team on a fast dash through the snow. The statue and museum are on the grounds of the Poland Spring Resort and make for a fun stop when in the area.
New England on a Pedestal tells the story of New England, its people and places by taking a look at its various statues, sculptures, monuments, and memorials. Some big and famous. Some smaller and less known. If you’ve been enjoying this podcast so far, please share it on your social media. Tell a friend. Like, subscribe to and comment on your podcast platform or wherever you listen us. Every little bit helps build our audience and expand our reach. As always I want to thank Sam, Jake, Bekka, and Jason for their talent and help and you the listeners for tuning in.
Join us next episode when we venture to another New England town and dig into some more local history. Until next time, be safe, be well, be kind and keep discovering. Thanks for listening!