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'HISTORY'ALTHOUGH THE SOVIETS DISPUTE the claim, there is evidence to show that the Siberian Husky descends from the Chukchi Sled Dog which had been breeding true in the Soviet Arctic for 3000 years prior to its introduction to this continent. These were the siberian dogs of a nomadic Siberian tribe used to pull sleds and herd reindeer. Not highly regarded in their native country because of their small size, it was nevertheless conceded that the Chukchi was the breed that could travel the greatest distance. Like all sled dog breeds, they were able to work hard for long periods on little food.

In a primitive way the women of the tribe practiced a form of selective breeding-the "best bred to the best"-and being isolated from cross breeding by nature of the environment, in time a strain of intelligent, fast, sled dogs evolved.

A fur trader and explorer, Olaf Swenson, is credited with bringing the breed to the continental United States. Over a twenty-five-year period, Swenson had dealt with the Chukchi buying or trading for good dogs when he could. His eye for quality was infallible, and several of the dogs he managed to obtain were subsequently sent to the eastern United States to become the foundation stock of some of the first Siberian Husky kennels.

While Swenson's prime interest in the sled dog was its value as a reliable means of transportation, there were others who valued the Chukchi for its speed. At the turn of the century sled dog racing was becoming a popular sport and in 1909 the first team of Siberian Huskies was entered in the All-Alaska Sweepstake by William Goosak, but it was a Norwegian, Leonhard Seppala, who has been called the "World's greatest dog driver," who brought the Chukchi into public prominence. Seppala and his team won the All-Alaska Sweeps three years running and he was the hero of the historic "serum drive" that averted a diphtheria epidemic in Nome in the winter of 1925. A statue in memory of one of Seppala's dogs now stands in Central Park, New York, commemorating this historic run.

Seppala's dogs came with him when he later moved to the United States where they contributed much to the breeding programs of early Siberian Husky kennels, and also the foundation stock of the first breeding kennel in Canada, which was located at St. Jovite, Quebec.

Since becoming an officially recognized breed in 1939, the Siberian Husky's popularity has grown enormously. As well as being the favorite of sled dog racing enthusiasts, the breed accounts for large entries at most championship dog shows.
Jeffrey Bragg has now revived the sepalla lines