Dogs are far more than man’s bets friend; they’re also our best assistants! First used in hunting expeditions at least 15,000 years ago, dogs became herders around 4,000 BCE, branched into health services, ie seeing eyes, in the 1500s and started fighting crime in the 1880s, when English bloodhounds were used to track Jack the Ripper.
But no interspecies cooperation is as intrepid and romantic than dog sledding: traversing long, often forbidding terrains with a pack of dogs, the use of which first began around 9,000 years ago. In honor of all the canine drivers and their hard work, here are nearly two dozen images of canines giving humans a helping hand. [I bet you thought I was going to say “paw.”]
Revel in their adorable utilitarianism, AFTER THE JUMP.
Above, a dog team delivering provisions in Alaska c. 1900.
(For more Found in the LOC, click here.)
- A chorus of Alaskan Malamutes get us started 1918:
2. Some Alaskan canines, 1900.
3. The winners of the 1914 Alaska sweepstakes.
4. a dog sled team departs Fairbanks, 1917.
5. The Midwinter Festival, Upper Saranac Lake, NY, 1909:
6. While it probably seems cute, being pulled by canines, don’t forget this is your view:
7. I discovered this 1916 “dog cart” image while researching my book. It’s a favorite.
8. A mail team en route to Portage Creek:
9. This 1918 image is great for all the street seen…
10. Here a postal dog team takes a break between letters.
11. 1900 hipsters in their dog team Uber:
12. From the side, 1900:
13. The winners of the 3rd annual Alaska Sweepstakes, 1910.
14. More laundry delivery, coming through!
15. These lucky dogs get a break: rail lines reduce friction.
16. Another postal team taking a little break, 1900:
17. Dog sled at the end of the Iditarod, 1912:
18. First dog team to travel from Nome to Seward. What good dogs!
19. This image showing a prospector and his dogs gives a good sense of how much these dogs carried. No wonder they needed breaks!
20. But, seriously, who wouldn’t want a dog team when venturing out into such harsh terrain?
In Case You're Interested 