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Track 4. Read and listen to the text about Baltow.

Baltow.

In 1925, there was a serious illness in Nome, a very small city in Alaska.

It killed children. The illness was diphtheria. The town needed help. They closed down the schools.

They quarantined many homes. A serum was the only cure to stop diphtheria, but there was not any serum in Nome.

The only way to get the life -searing serum to the city was by a dog sled.

In Alaska, there is always a lot of snow and ice, so the best means of transportation is by dog sleds.

A team of 20 men and 150 dogs started the trip. They needed to get the serum to Nome in a short time.

It was a dangerous trip, but it was a great responsibility.

It was very difficult because the temperature was minus 50 degrees centigrade. There was a snowstorm.

It was impossible to see in that snowstorm.

Baltow, a black and white Siberian husky, was their leader. He guided them successfully with his natural talent, courage and effort.

Baltow managed to take the team to Nome and save the lives of many children.

Baltow and his friends became very famous, and everybody loved these dogs.

After some time, a circus took them and trained them as acrobat dogs.

The businessman George Kimball watched them. They were ill, and they looked very unhappy.

Kimball collected money to save them. Everybody, especially children, helped and gave money.

With this money, Kimball transported the dogs to Cleveland and placed them in a comfortable zoo.

In the zoo, Baltow and his friends lived happily ever after, until they died.

Baltow died of old age in 1933. He was 14 years old.

Today, there is a statue of Baltow in Central Park, New York.

People can see Baltow's statue there and remember this hero dog.