After the world famous “Serum Run,” Leonhard Seppala partnered with Siberian Husky enthusiast and musher, Elizabeth Ricker, to co-own the Poland Springs kennel in Maine. They raced and exhibited their Siberian Huskies all over the Northeast, and supplied many of the Siberians that raced throughout North America. When Seppala returned to Alaska and the kennel closed in 1931, he passed his dogs on to Québécois, Harry Wheeler, who established his own kennel with the “of Seppala” prefix. It’s said that all registered Siberian Huskies today can trace their ancestry back to dogs from either Seppala and Ricker’s kennel, or Harry Wheeler’s.

Image: “My Favorite Thing About Winter” by Jai Johnson is available as a print here.