Dog Names that Start with B

Many small children have enjoyed the Disney movie Balto. Balto is the story of a wolf hybrid dog located in Nome, Alaska. Balto doesn't seem to fit in, and this part of the plot is important to Balto. Much like Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, Balto has an important destiny, yet he was picked on by his peers because of his unique nose. Balto's identity as a hybrid between a wolf and a dog instantly makes him an outsider; he is subject to mistreatment by both humans and animals alike. The only animals who treat Balto like he is a part of the family are two polar bears and a snow goose, whom the creators of the movie would like you to believe are surrogate parents to Balto. As a part of the tale, all the children of Nome fall ill with diphtheria, a deadly disease during the 1920s (the time period in which Balto is set). Balto hears that the doctor is out of the necessary antibiotics to treat diphtheria, and he decides to participate in a sled race to determine which dog is good enough to be a part of the sled dog team that will travel to Nenana to procure the medicine. Although he endures many trials on his way to deliver the medicine, Balto is finally successful. Like Rudolph, he finally earns the respect of those who ridiculed him for so long. 

There was a real dog named Balto, and the Disney movie is loosely based on his heroics. The real Balto was a Siberian Husky, not a wolf hybrid. Balto did lead a team of sled dogs to meet a transportation group in Nenana, Alaska; Balto and his group of dogs successfully travelled to Nenana and returned with lifesaving medicine for villagers affected by diphtheria. Had Balto failed to return, most of the villagers would have succumbed to the deadly illness. Balto the dog was named after Samuel Balto, a Sami explorer. 

In the film, Balto is credited with cutting the Iditarod Trail and in a way, running in the inaugural Iditarod Race. This is fictional. The Iditarod was cut by many native Alaskans over the years. The Iditarod Race is a commemoration of the Alaskan gold rush era, not a memorialization of Balto's race to Nenana to obtain a diphtheria antitoxin. The sled dog race was established in 1973, nearly fifty years after Balto's historic run from Nome to Nenana.