Famous dogs

This article discusses famous dogs, those which have earned a high level of fame, to the point where the name of the dog has become recorded in history.

Non-fictional dogs

None of the following dogs are fictional, and each of the following real-life dogs helps illustrate the range of accomplishments of working and companion dogs.

• Argos One of the most faithful dogs in ancient history, Argos was Odysseus' dog, who waited patiently for his master's return from the Trojan War for over twenty years. He instantly recognized and greeted his master, even though Odysseus had disguised himself as a beggar (Note: some may dispute whether Argos is or is not likely to be fictional)

• Barry: Buried in an island graveyard in the River Seine in Paris, lies this Newfoundland dog who patrolled the St. Bernard Pass in the Swiss Alps. The monument depicts him saving a child, and in fact he saved the lives of forty persons who had been lost in snowstorms in those mountains.

• Balto (1922 – March 14, 1933) was a lead sled dog in the 1925 serum run to Nome, in which diphtheria antitoxin was transported from Anchorage, Alaska to Nome by dogsled teams to combat an outbreak of the disease. Balto and his team became famous during coverage of the event, and went on to tour the country. Unfortunately, within a few years, Balto found himself in a run-down dime museum; when word got out of his plight, a campaign was started in Cleveland, Ohio to raise money to bring him there. He spent his last years at the Cleveland Zoo, and after his death was taxidermied; his body is on exhibit in the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

• Brandy: was the first "seeing-eye dog" in the United States. Although guide dogs for the blind had become accepted in Germany in the early twentieth century, American organizations for the blind scorned their use." The head of one prestigious school for the blind described the guide dog as 'a dirty little cur dragging a blind man along at the end of a string, the very index of incompetence and beggary." A young American blind man, Morris Frank, fought for a full and independent life at a time when this was not considered possible for a person like him. He traveled to Switzerland, at the invitation of the trainers Dorothy Eustis, and there went through an extensive course of training with a German Shepherd bitch he named "Brandy". He returned to New York City and, in the glare of flashbulbs, showed reporters that he, a blind man, could walk (with Brandy) across some of the busiest and most dangerous streets in the city. His subsequent travels across the country demonstrated that a blind person could be guided by a dog and achieve independence.

• Greyfriars Bobby: This Syke Terrier from the nineteenth century became famous for waiting every day (barring bad weather) by his master's grave for his return in Edinburgh, Scotland for fourteen years.

• Hachikō: A Japanese Akita known for its loyalty. Hachikō waited for his master, a university professor, at the Shibuyu Railway Station every evening, and continued to do so even after his master's death.

• Laika: Launched aboard Sputnik 2 on November 3, 1957, Laika was the first living creature from Earth to go into space. She did not return alive.

• Rin Tin Tin: unlike Lassie, the original Rin Tin Tin was a real dog. Rin Tin Tin's financial success was credited saving the then fledgling Warner Brothers film studio from bankruptcy. “Rinty” was one of two German Shepherd Dog puppies rescued by an American serviceman, Lee Duncan. Corporal Duncan brought both dogs to the United States but the female did not survive. The male became the most recognizable German Shepherds of his era, as well as one of the highest paid actors. Rin Tin Tin has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Fictional dogs

• Lad
• Lassie
• Strongheart

Online resources:

• Official Rin Tin Tin website: [[1]]