Balto is named after the legendary Husky sled dog who rescued the town of Nome, Alaska during a blizzard in 1925. The town was suffering from a deadly outbreak of diphtheria and harsh blizzards prevented medicines to be delivered by plane or train. Instead, teams of sled dogs and their mushers fought through 674 miles of blizzard conditions to deliver the antitoxins needed. Balto was the lead sled dog on the most treacherous route of the journey and is commemorated above in Central Park, New York.