From Siberia, with Love

Sable is a gorgeous Siberian Husky whose mom is totally, completely, madly in love with her. (Those are the best kind of dog parents!)

The Siberian Husky is an extraordinary breed whose heroism is legend. In one of the most famous incidents, known as the 1925 Serum Run to Nome, a group of Huskies moved antitoxin 674 miles across Alaska in less than six days, saving the population of the city of Nome from an epidemic of diphtheria. The story is epic: relay teams of dogs moving in minus 50 degree temperatures and blizzard conditions, traveling day and night. Many dogs froze to death.

There is a statue in Central Park of Balto, the dog who led the final leg of the relay:

From Wikipedia: “Balto was also able to stay on the trail in near whiteout conditions; Kaasen stated he could barely see his hand in front of his face. Balto’s team did their leg of the run almost entirely in the dark. During a blizzard, Kaasen and his team missed the last sled dog team and had to take the medicine twice as far. At Nome, everybody wanted to thank Kaasen at first. He suggested giving fame to Balto as well.”

I get a lump in my throat thinking about such heroism. Who among us is as brave?

Dogs seem to carry their mythologies about with them, as if every one of their ancestor’s stories were embedded and passed along in their genetic code. It’s marvelous.