1. Balto achieved fame when he led a team of sled dogs driven by Gunnar Kaasen on the final leg of the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska, to Nenana, Alaska, by train and then to Nome by dog sled to combat an outbreak of the disease.
Balto lived in ease at the Brookside Zoo until his death on March 14,1933, at the age of 14; his body was mounted and displayed in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History, where it remains to this day.
Balto was named after Samuel Balto, a Sami who was part of Fridtjof Nansen's exploration of Greenland in 1888, and whom Seppala admired.
Balto considered him a "scrub dog", unable to run as fast as his other dogs, who were derisively called "Siberian rats" by mushers against whom Seppala competed.
Balto had been largely untried as a sled dog prior to the run, but Kaasen expressed confidence in Balto's abilities and likely identified with him.
Kaasen and Balto soon traveled across the country, making public appearances and being bestowed gifts from the cities visited.
Balto modeled in front of Roth and was present for the monument's unveiling.
Seppala claimed in his memoir that he sold the dogs to Lesser, with Balto selling for much more "on account of the publicity given to his 'glorious achievements'".
Kimble reached out to area businessmen and elected officials, along with The Plain Dealer, and assembled the Cleveland Balto Committee led by Common Pleas Judge James B Ruhl, which negotiated with Houston.
Balto made an appearance at a parade for the 1929 National Air Races.
One letter written decades later recalled visiting the zoo on a hot day, with Balto tied to a tree in front of a water pan "with a few drops of water in it".
News of Balto's declining health was published four days earlier, having lost his sight and suffering decreased mobility and paralysis.
Balto's death was attributed to both an enlarged heart and bladder, the former as a result of stress incurred from the serum run.
Sye, the last of the seven dogs, was reportedly crestfallen over Balto's death, moaning, howling, and refusing to eat.
Sye died on March 25,1934, one year after Balto, and was the only dog of the group to sire offspring.
Displays of Balto were intermittent in the years since, with his remains placed in cold storage at all other times.
Balto is among the museum's eight most iconic specimens that are represented in the Hall.
Balto spent a majority of his life, actually, in Cleveland, and it was the community of Cleveland that saved him from a pretty despicable fate.
CMNH announced in August 1998 that Balto would be loaned to the Anchorage Museum of History and Art, who paid substantial money to insure his mount, for six months.
The Anchorage Museum previously sought to have Balto displayed in an exhibit tied to the 1988 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race and were in negotiations with CMNH earlier in the year about a loan.
Balto was placed in a special crate for the trip to Anchorage with the label "Contents: One Hero Dog", and a CMNH curator was present at the museum for the exhibition's duration.
The relay as a concept was not as exciting as 'Balto crossed the finish line.
Mushers have placed doubt on claims Balto truly led Kaasen's team, based primarily on his prior track record.
Balto's DNA was analyzed and sequenced as part of the Zoonomia Project, an international collaboration that has mapped the genomes of over 240 mammals.
Balto shared part of his ancestry with modern Siberian huskies as well as Greenland dogs, Chinese village dogs, Samoyeds and Alaskan malamutes.
Balto had several DNA adaptations that promoted Arctic survival, including a thick double coat, the ability to digest starch, and bone and tissue development.