Alaska Official State Dog: Alaskan Malamute

The push began in 2007 when a kindergartner named Paige Hill at Polaris K-12 School in Anchorage asked why Alaska did not have an official state dog. Teachers Terry Powers, Jamie Rodriguez, and Carol Bartholomew guided students through a multi-year study comparing several dog breeds. Two first-grade classes researched the options and selected the Alaskan Malamute. They then asked Representative Berta Gardner to carry the bill on their behalf.

Students chose the Alaskan Malamute over other breeds, including the Siberian Husky, for one clear reason: history. The Malamute is one of the oldest dog breeds on Earth, with roots stretching back roughly 5,000 years in Alaska. No other breed could match that depth of connection to the state. As student Paige Hill told the House State Affairs Committee in 2009, they picked the Malamute partly because it is big like Alaska and because it is a hard-working dog like the people of Alaska.

The Mahlemut did not simply use dogs as tools. Dogs and people lived together, worked together, and survived together. Malamutes hauled heavy supply sledges loaded with food and gear. They helped hunters track caribou and kept watch for polar bears. When parents left on hunts, Malamutes stayed behind to watch over children. This deep bond between people and dogs—stretching back thousands of years—is what the state symbol honors.

When the Klondike Gold Rush began in 1896, prospectors flooded into Alaska and the Yukon in search of fortune. Getting supplies to remote mining claims was nearly impossible without dogs. Alaskan Malamutes became essential to the rush. A single good Malamute could sell for $500, and a small team for $1,500—enormous sums at the time. These dogs hauled equipment over mountain passes and carried mail to settlements that no road or rail could reach. They helped open Alaska for settlement and development.

During World War I, the Nome Kennel Club shipped 450 Alaskan Malamutes to France. French troops in remote mountain outposts had been cut off from supplies, and the dogs tackled the harsh mountain conditions with ease, delivering needed provisions. In World War II, Malamutes served the American military as freight haulers, pack animals, search-and-rescue dogs, and mine sniffers. The military attempted to train them as guard dogs, but the breed was too friendly with strangers to pass that test.

Between 1909 and 1956, Alaskan Malamutes contributed to some of the most famous polar expeditions in history. They joined the teams of explorers Robert Peary, Roald Amundsen, and Richard Byrd on journeys to the South Pole. These expeditions required dogs that could haul heavy supply sleds for weeks without breaking down. Malamutes were built exactly for that job. The successful exploration of Antarctica could not have been accomplished without them.

Dog mushing was designated Alaska's official state sport in 1972—thirty-eight years before the Malamute became the state dog. The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race, run every March from Anchorage to Nome, follows much of the route used during the 1925 Serum Run. While modern racing teams use lighter, faster mixed-breed dogs, the Alaskan Malamute remains a symbol of the tradition. Some recreational mushers still run purebred Malamute teams in weight-pulling and long-distance events, and the endurance theme aligns with Alaska's state motto.

The moose is the largest member of the deer family and one of the most recognizable animals in Alaska. Found across forests, wetlands, and river valleys, moose are well adapted to the state’s harsh climate and long winters. Their size, strength, and ability to thrive in remote landscapes make the moose a natural symbol of Alaska’s vast wilderness and frontier spirit. In 1998, it was officially designated as the state land mammal following a student-led campaign.

Alaska has three animal symbols that together cover the state's full range. The moose (state land mammal, 1998) represents Alaska's vast wilderness and interior forests. The bowhead whale (state marine mammal, 1983) represents the Arctic seas and Inupiat cultural heritage. The Alaskan Malamute (state dog, 2010) represents the human connection to both worlds—the dogs that made it possible for people to live, travel, and survive across Alaska's enormous landscape.