http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20161014-in-1925-a-remote-town-was-saved-from-lethal-disease-by-dogs
Today I wrote a found verse, all credit to the article linked above – because we are in a pandemic and can all take a lesson from these dogs
Great Race of Mercy
1925
Gregorian Calendar
MCMXXV
25th year of the 20th century
January 27-February 1
The Great Race of Mercy
serum run to Nome, Alaska
from Nenana
cut off in most brutal winter
in decades
deadly diphtheria epidemic
town doc predicted
100% mortality rate
without the antitoxin
rail could get it minus 674 miles
leave it to the dogs for the rest
20 teams of sled dogs
674 miles of ice and snow
mission: avoid freezing
to death
oh, and the serum
expires in 6 days –
get it there in less than
a quarter of the 25 day
postal time
enter the dogs and drivers
Siberian Huskies
first introduced
to Chukchi culture
by fur trader
William Goodall
Baltic and Togo two lead dogs who stood ready at their points
ready, set, go!
four days in
with two days to go
serum time ticking
Leonard Seppala
veered off on a victory path
in his stretch
a risky one
over the Norton Sound ice sheet
hitting a whiteout
knowing Togo could
navigate around
the potential pitfalls-
deadly open stretches of water
because Siberian Huskies
have vibrissae and tylotrich
to sense air flow changes
Togo got them 91 miles out
when Gunnar Kaasen
stepped in with Balto
and crossed the finish line
in Nome
with a half day to spare
saving 10,000 lives
Dogs aren’t just friends
they’re saviors
but the key to effective sled dogs?
playful dogs with no
inter-group aggression
lesson: we can do the impossible
when we work together
Common Threads 