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List of individual dogs

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List of individual dogs

This article is about famous real-life dogs. For famous fictional dogs, see List of fictional dogs.

The following is a list of individual dogs.

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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Hachikō, an Akita famed for his exceptional loyalty

Actors

Main article: List of animal actors § Dogs

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Film

Television

Athletes

Faithful dogs

Faithful after owner's death

  • Canelo in Cádiz, Spain, used to walk with his owner to the hospital where he was receiving dialysis treatment. In 1990 his owner died at the hospital. Canelo died outside the hospital after waiting for 12 years. The town of Cádiz put his name to a street and a plaque in his honor.[12][13]
  • Capitán, a German Shepherd, ran away from his home in central Argentina, after the death of his owner Miguel Guzmán in 2006. About a week later, Guzmán's family found Capitán standing guard at Guzmán's grave after finding the cemetery on his own. When brought home, Capitán again ran away back to the grave of his former owner. He stood vigil over his owner's grave and received provisions from the cemetery staff so he did not need to leave.[14][15][16] Capitán died in 2018.[17]
  • Dżok ("Jock"), the dog.[18][19] Throughout the entire year (1990–1991) Dżok was seen waiting in vain at the Rondo Grunwaldzkie roundabout in Kraków, Poland, to be fetched back by his owner, who had died there.
  • Fido, a mixed-breed dog, whose owner, Carlo Soriani, had died in an air raid over Borgo San Lorenzo (near Florence, in Italy) in 1943, during World War II. Fido waited in vain, for the following 14 years, for Soriani's return, going daily to the bus stop in Luco del Mugello (a frazione of Borgo) where the man used to get off after coming home from work.[20]
  • Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier in Edinburgh, Scotland, was loyal to his owner long after his owner's death in 1858. Until Bobby's death 14 years later, he reportedly spent every night at his owner's grave.[21] A statue in memorial of Greyfriars Bobby was erected near the graveyard. Several films have been made dramatising the life of Greyfriars Bobby, and in folklore he is popularly remembered throughout Scotland as a symbol of loyalty.
  • Hachikō, an Akita who became a symbol of loyalty in Japan, is now honored by a statue in Tokyo. Hachikō is famous for his loyalty to his long-dead owner Hidesaburō Ueno, by returning to the train station and waiting for his return, every day for the next nine years during the time the train was scheduled to arrive.[22]
  • Kostya, in the mid-1990s in Tolyatti, Russia – a man and a girl died in a car crash during the summer of 1995, leaving their dog as the only survivor. The German Shepherd, named Constantine aka Kostya or Faithful Kostya by the locals, kept coming to the same spot for the next seven years braving freezing winters and hot summers. Loyalty – a bronze statue honouring the dog's loyalty was placed on that spot in 2003 by the city authorities.[23][24]
  • Ruswarp, a Border Collie who disappeared while hiking with his owner Graham Nuttall in the Welsh Mountains near Llandrindod Wells on 20 January 1990. On 7 April, a hiker discovered Nuttall's body near a mountain stream, where Ruswarp had been standing guard for 11 weeks. The 14-year-old dog was so weak he had to be carried off the mountain, and died shortly after Nuttall's funeral.[25] There is a statue of Ruswarp on a platform of Garsdale railway station.
  • Pikeman's dog, a terrier that stayed with his owner who fought as a pikeman at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade and accompanied the corpse to the cemetery.[26][27]
  • Seaman, the Newfoundland belonging to explorer Meriweather Lewis, would not eat or leave his owner's grave, and died of grief.[28]
  • Shep, belonging to a sheepherder who died in Fort Benton, Montana, in August 1936 followed his owner's casket to the train station and fashioned a den under the depot platform after the body was shipped back east. For the next five and a half years, Shep met every passenger train arriving there—four a day—sniffing at the passengers and baggage car doors. His vigil became widely publicized including a feature in "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Passengers took the Havre to Great Falls rail line just to see the dog, and he received so much fan mail that the Great Northern Railroad assigned a secretary to help with responses. On 12 Jan. 1942, Shep was struck and killed by an arriving train. AP and UPI issued his obituary nationwide; thousands sent condolences and hundreds attended his funeral. The Great Northern erected an obelisk at his gravesite on a bluff overlooking the depot and town. In 1994, the citizens of Fort Benton further memorialized the dog with a heroic bronze erected on the town's steamboat levee.[29]
  • Theo, an English Springer Spaniel belonging to Lance Corporal Liam Tasker of the British Army. Theo was used to sniff out roadside bombs in Afghanistan. In 2010, Theo and Tasker were in a firefight with insurgents, killing Tasker. Theo died later at a British army base from a fatal seizure, although many believe he died from a broken heart. Tasker's body and Theo's ashes were returned to England, where Tasker's family was presented with Theo's ashes in a private ceremony. In October 2012, Theo was posthumously honored with the Dickin Medal, Britain's highest award for bravery by animals.[30]
  • Waghya, meaning "tiger" in Marathi, was the pet dog of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. After Shivaji's death, the dog mourned and is said to have jumped into his owner's funeral pyre and immolated himself. A statue was put up on a pedestal next to Shivaji's tomb at Raigad Fort.[31]
  • K9 Big Wolf (Chinese: 大狼; pinyin: Dà láng) - Police Dog of the (now-defunct) People's Armed Police Border Defense Corps [zh] Dehong detachment. In August 22, 2011, his handler Private Yao Yuanjun (姚元军) drowned while fighting with drug traffickers, and several months later "Big Wolf" was filmed on national TV, still waiting for his handler to return at their training location near the Shweli River, gaining fame on Chinese social media; "Big Wolf" continues to have waited for over a decade at the same training site even after a decade.[32][33][34]
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    Statue of Waghya, symbol of pure loyalty and devotion in India

Homing dogs

  • Baekgu, the Korean Jindo Dog, after being sold by the original owner due to economic hardship to a new owner 300 km away, came back to the original owner after seven months.
  • Bobbie the Wonder Dog, after accidental abandonment on a cross-country trip, Bobbie made his way back over 2,551 miles (4,105 km) to his family's home.

Other faithful dogs

  • Bob the Railway Dog, a loyal traveller and drivers' companion on the South Australian Railways in the late 19th century.
  • Fidèle, a famous dog that could usually be seen sleeping out of his window in Bruges.
  • Kelsey, a dog, was hailed a hero after he rescued his owner who became paralyzed when he slipped and fell in the snow. Kelsey stayed by his side licking his face to keep him warm for nearly 20 hours.[35]
  • Mari: A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies is based on a true story in the 2004 Chūetsu earthquake. Mari gave birth to three puppies. That spring, animals behaved strangely, foreshadowing something major to come. On 23 October 2004, a major earthquake, which later became known as the Chūetsu earthquake struck and devastated the whole village. At that time, only grandfather and Aya were at home, and they were pinned down by a wardrobe that collapsed onto them. Mari quickly moved her puppies to a safe place and successfully rescued grandfather and Aya from that disaster.
  • Nig, a mixed-breed dog taken in as a puppy in 1932 by the construction workers of the Hoover Dam.[36] Considered their mascot, he accompanied workers daily to and from the site, even carrying a sack lunch.[37] In 1941, he died and was buried at the dam, where he remains commemorated with a plaque.[38]
  • Patsy Ann, known as the "Official Greeter of Juneau". She was a bull terrier that greeted ships as they docked in Juneau.[39]
  • Old Drum, a hunting dog whose death at the hands of a neighbor was the subject of a lawsuit and George Graham Vest's famous summation to the jury, known as "Eulogy of the Dog",[40] which asserts that a man's unique relationship with his dog should influence how the law is interpreted and implemented in such cases. The case has been influential in courts ever since.[41]
  • Pompey, a Pug that foiled an assassination attempt on the life of William The Silent, Prince of Orange.
  • Red Dog (Pilbara), a Kelpie who wandered around the outback Western Australia looking for its owner.
  • Saint Guinefort, a legendary French dog, is venerated with a tradition almost identical to that of Gelert, above.
  • Taro and Jiro, two Sakhalin huskies that survived a year of abandonment on the frozen continent of Antarctica until members of a Japanese Expedition team rescued them.
  • Zander, a 70-pound (32 kg), approximately 7-year-old Samoyed-husky mix who escaped his home and traveled more than two "hard miles" (fording a stream, crossing a busy highway, and navigating complex neighborhoods) to arrive at a hospital in an area where he had never been, where he was stopped by a hospital employee who called the cell phone number on his dog tag and reached Zander's owner in a room inside the hospital where he had been lying for several days recuperating from an illness.[42]

Working dogs

War dogs

See also: Dogs in warfare and Dickin Medal
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Statue of Bamse in Honningsvåg
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Statue at Gettysburg of Sallie Ann Jarrett, Civil War mascot of the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry
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Sinbad and crew, 1943
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Willie, December 1945

Rescue dogs


Guide, service, and facility dogs

Dogs that aided exploration

Police dogs

Other working dogs

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Don the Talking Dog, image published in The Evening World, 10 July 1912

Other heroic dogs

Summarize
Perspective

Not all dogs that are famous for saving lives are working dogs. Famous lifesaving dogs with no special training or job include the following:

Saved abandoned babies

  • Jade, a German Shepherd from Birmingham, England, who saved an abandoned baby. He was walking in a park with his owner when he ran off and laid down, not moving until his master approached, next to an abandoned baby in a bag in the woods. Jade's owner called an ambulance, which took the baby to the hospital, and the baby was saved.[98]
  • La China, a free-ranging dog who heard the cries of a newborn infant that had been exposed by her mother in a field near a shanty town outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. La China found the baby and, without leaving any bite marks on her, brought her back to the relative shelter and warmth of a corner where she was keeping and nursing her litter of puppies. In so doing, La China had brought the baby close enough to people to be heard and saved.[99]
  • Mkombozi, a stray dog from the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, saved the life of an abandoned baby. On 9 May 2005, Mkombozi while scavenging for food along a road, found an abandoned baby in a package. She dragged it across a road, pulled it through a fence, into a village, to a shed where she was nursing newborn puppies. In doing so, she had brought the baby close enough for its cries to be heard by a woman and her children, who saved the baby. The baby was given the name "Angel" and adopted. The dog was named "Mkombozi", which is Swahili for "savior", and taken in by the local SPCA.[100]

Others

  • Flash, a German Shepherd, was a two-year-old loyal companion donated to the war on September 10, 1942, by Eleanor (Hildenbrand) and Paul F. Demerski. He was honored for his services and awards by the Syracuse Herald Journal newspaper. Dogs for Defense out of Washington D.C. awarded Flash for his bravery and loyalty in the field during World War II. He began his service at the train station in Solvay, New York, and continued on to Hicksville, Long Island, then deployed with his handlers. Mr. and Mrs. Demerski received a letter to inform them of Flash's completion of sentry duty training for the army located at the War Dog Reception and Training Center, Quartermaster Depot, Front Royal, Virginia.
  • Buddy, a German Shepherd, was hailed as a hero in 2010 for guiding Alaska State Troopers through winding back roads to a fire at his owners' workshop when their GPS had stopped working.[101]
  • Duke, a mixed breed rescue dog in Portland, Connecticut who had been with his family for six years, saved the life of 9-week-old Harper Brousseau. On the night of 7 October 2012, Duke jumped into the Brousseau's bed and began shaking uncontrollably. This caused the Brousseaus to wake up and get out of bed. Upon checking on their daughter, they found she had stopped breathing. They then called 911 and the paramedics were able to revive Harper.[102]
  • George, a Jack Russell Terrier who shielded a group of children in Manaia, New Zealand, from a pair of attacking pit bulls. He was killed by the pit bulls.[103]
  • Gnarley, an American Staffordshire Terrier mix from Sunbright, Tennessee, saved his owner's life when his coworker and roommate attacked him with a machete while working out of state on 26 July 2019. Gnarley made a full recovery from his injuries. An emergency surgery for a fractured skull and long laceration was needed.[104][105]
  • Kabang, a shepherd mix Aspin from Zamboanga City, Philippines who became famous when she saved two children from a potentially fatal motorcycle crash. As a result of the accident, Kabang lost her upper snout.[106][107]
  • Lucy, a pit bull who shielded her owner's mother-in-law from an ex-boyfriend with a knife. The man stabbed Lucy multiple times, and she died on 19 December 2015, after going into cardiac arrest from blood loss.[108]
  • Polo, a 6-year-old mixed breed in Baltimore, Maryland, who saved the life of 8-month-old Vivian Poremski. On 15 August 2016, a candle sparked a fast-moving fire in the Poremski home while the mother had stepped out to retrieve an item from her car. Polo protected Vivian from the flames by laying on top of her, dying in the process.[109]
  • Saihu (赛虎 = "like a tiger"), from Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, southern China. On 28 November 2003, a chef was preparing dinner for almost 30 people at a driving school. The smell of the cooking meat attracted some nearby puppies to the school, along with their mother, Saihu. The chef threw some scraps of meat from the pot to the puppies, but strangely, the puppies' mother prevented them from eating. Saihu also kept barking at the chef, as well as the people who were preparing to eat. Confused but undeterred, the people prepared to eat the meal the chef had made. Saihu became panicked and ran around barking at the guests, before finally eating all the scraps the chef had thrown to the dogs. After just a few minutes, Saihu fell dead on the floor. The guests, shocked at the dog's death, stopped eating the meal. They called a policeman as well as some doctors, who discovered poison in the meat. No people or puppies died. Everyone was convinced that Saihu must have smelled the poison and had saved the people and her puppies by sacrificing herself. The people of Jiujaing were so grateful to Saihu that they set up a tomb in a human graveyard and a statue to memorialize the dog.[110]
  • Susie, part Pit Bull, rescued after being set on fire in Greensboro, North Carolina; her plight led to passage of Susie's Law.[111]
  • Velvet, a black Labrador Retriever and shepherd mixed breed cattle dog, who helped save three climbers when they became stranded on Mount Hood in Oregon on 18 February 2007.[112]
  • Wangwang (汪汪 Wāngwāng, meaning "wuff wuff"), a dog member of a Chang (張) family in Taipei who woke the family in a night fire. The family woke their neighbors and saved about 30 lives.[113]
  • Willie, Labrador retriever, who saved his friend, six-year-old John Stenglein, from a wolf attack at a logging camp nearby on 26 April 2000 in Icy Bay, Alaska. John and an older boy were playing near the edge of a logging camp when a wolf appeared and chased the boys, attacking John when he fell and dragging him towards the woods. Many came running, but only Willie arrived in time to confront the wolf, causing it to drop John before it could make off with him. The others then arrived, the wolf retreated, and John was saved; and then John's father arrived and tracked down and shot the wolf. The wolf was found to have been neither sick nor starving, but habituated to the presence of people. John received 19 laceration and puncture wounds on the back, legs, and buttocks.[114]
  • Leo, a Dachshund, on March 9, 2014, in the city of Pančevo, Serbia, saved the life of an 11-year-old girl from the jaws of a Bullmastiff. He weighed 12 kg, and the Bullmastiff weighed 50 kg. After the fight, Leo had a broken pelvis, distended intestines, and was completely crushed. He succumbed to his injuries after two days. The city of Pančevo erected a monument in the park where the owners constantly sat. The monument reads 'For all the little heroes with big hearts.[115]

Real dogs in literature

Mascots

Further information: Military mascot
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Jiggs II, USMC mascot, c. 1928

Models

  • Boo, a Pomeranian and social media icon with the tagline of "World's Cutest Dog".
  • Man Ray and Fay Ray, Weimaraners, subjects of their owner, photographer William Wegman.
  • Mickey, an Irish Wolfhound, and Cracker, a bull terrier, acquired in 1925 by Cecil Aldin and the models for his popular book, Sleeping Partners, which humorously illustrated the dogs’ habit of sleeping on, under, around, or tangled up with each other.[127]
  • Mr. Winkle, a very small dog of uncertain breed, belongs to Lara Jo Regan, who has published many photos of Mr. Winkle in various costumes and poses.

Dogs in science

Summarize
Perspective

Space dogs

See also: Soviet space dogs

The Soviets favored dogs for early space flights, as opposed to the Americans, who preferred monkeys and chimpanzees.

  • In 1951 Dezik and Tsygan became the first dogs to enter suborbital spaceflight.
  • In 1957 Laika, a female mixed-breed dog, became the first animal to enter orbit when she was launched into space aboard Sputnik 2. Laika's presence led to the mission being dubbed "Muttnik". She was also the first to die in orbit, as no provision was made to return her to the ground.
  • In 1960 Belka and Strelka, two Russian mixed breeds, went into space aboard Sputnik 5 and returned. They were, along with their mice, rats, and rabbit traveling companions, the first animals to survive an orbital flight.[129] Strelka later gave birth to a litter of puppies, one of which, Pushinka, was given to U.S. president John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.[129]

Dogs of unusual size

Small dogs

  • Boo Boo, a female Chihuahua, was listed in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the smallest living dog in terms of height.
  • Heaven Sent Brandy, a female Chihuahua, is listed in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the smallest living dog in terms of length. She set the record on 31 January 2005, at 15 centimetres (6 in) long, from her nose to the tip of her tail.[130][131]
  • Sylvia, a matchbox-size Yorkshire Terrier owned by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, England, was the smallest dog in recorded history. The dog died in 1945 when she was almost two years old, at which point she stood 6 centimetres (2.4 in) tall at the shoulder, measured 9 centimetres (3.5 in) from nose tip to tail, and weighed 0.11 kilograms (3.9 oz).[132]

Heavy dogs

  • Benedictine, a male Saint Bernard, who weighed 162 kilograms (357 lb) is recognized as the heaviest dog to have ever lived.[133]
  • Zorba, a male English Mastiff, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the heaviest dog in the world at 155.6 kilograms (343 lb). The record was set in November 1989, when Zorba was 8 years old. Zorba also held a record for the world's longest dog at 2.5 metres (8.2 ft).[130][134][135]

Tall dogs

  • Giant George, a blue Great Dane that took over Gibson's record as the tallest living dog, measuring 109 cm (43 in) from paw to shoulder; 220 cm (7.2 ft) from head to tail.[citation needed]
  • Gibson, a Harlequin Great Dane who was the world's tallest dog until his death in August 2009. Gibson was certified by Guinness World Records as the tallest living dog at 107 centimetres (42.1 in). Standing on his hind legs, the 77 kilograms (170 lb) dog was over 2.13 metres (7 ft) tall.
  • Titan, a Great Dane who was previously recognised as the world's tallest dog.
  • Zeus, a Great Dane who claimed the tallest dog record on 13 September 2012.

Intelligent dogs

Long-lived dogs

Main article: List of longest living dogs

Show dogs

Notorious dogs

Ugly dogs

Further information: World's Ugliest Dog Contest
  • Elwood, a Chinese Crested–Chihuahua, mixed breed, was a winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest in 2007.
  • Miss Ellie, a blind Chinese Crested dog that won the pedigree section of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest in 2009.
  • Peggy, a dog that won the title of "Britain's ugliest dog".
  • Sam, a blind Chinese Crested hairless, was the three-time winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest.

Unique dogs

Foundation sires and early dogs

Other notable dogs

Fame by proxy to a famous owner

Summarize
Perspective

Some dogs are made famous by frequently or prominently appearing in the media with their famous owner.

Dogs of actors and entertainers

Dogs of artists

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Archie's "15 minutes of fame" with Andy Warhol.[208] Photo by Jack Mitchell, 1973

Dogs of musicians

Dogs of political figures

Dogs of U.S. presidents and their families

Main article: United States presidential pets

Dogs of writers and poets

Others

See also

References

External links

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