Dogs are part of our society. This phrase is very suitable especially for people who live in the arctic. Dogs that have thick fur and strong claws seems to be specially design to be in an extreme, cold, and snowy place. Because of this advantage, dogs have an important role in helping the community. One of the thing that can be done by dogs to help the community is by becoming sled dog. Sled dogs are dogs which are specifically trained to pull a sled.
Using dogs to pull a sled has been exists since thousands of years ago. Initially, the inuit tribe in Canada is the first who used sleds to send goods to a relatively distant place. After this invention, then use the dog sled starts to spread all over the place.

The world’s first dog sled
The first dog sleds are from 1000 AD. When it was found, the dog sled was different from the dog sled we that we use now. The first dog sled found has a relatively small size. Seen from the size, this sled was not pulled by many dogs. The sled seems to used only for light activities such as transporting firewood and food. However, since people understand more and more about most dog’s abilities and strengths, the sled has evolved to be able to carry heavier weights.
Dog sled functions in the past
If we currently send packages using private vehicles or service posts, in the past, people doing it with different way. In the past, people tend to do everything traditionally, such as deliver something by foot. However, in areas with extreme cold weather, people will not be able to deliver goods using only foot. The conditions that are too cold, the mileage they have to passed and also heavy goods being carried out can make someone died. Therefore, sled dogs are used to carry goods from one place to another.

Dog sleds in the past are helping people in almost everything. Starting from transporting, sending letters, sending food, carrying firewood, carrying gold, and many more. The distance that the sled dogs must be passed can very far. In fact, dog sleds can even run from one city to another city and visit many small camps at one time.
Balto, one of the best sled dogs in the world
In 1925, the small town in Alaska, Nome, faced a diphtheria epidemic. At that time, diphtheria was a scary disease and able to kill many. In order to save the population, 20 teams using a sled dogs were travel 1,085 kilometers distance in order to bring anti-toxic drugs. These 20 teams must through through a heavy snowstorm in six days straight. Although it seems to be impossible, the sleds dogs were struggling hard and run as hard as they can. Balto was the leader of the last team to arrive and succeeded in bringing diphtheria drugs through the worst winter of the last decades.