Archive for the ‘Cat Mascots’ Category

In 1903, one of the most popular dog-and-cat dynamic duos of the FDNY were Dan and Nickie* of Engine Company No. 65. Forty years later, Chappy and Henry the pole-sliding cat were the canine and feline stars of the fire company. Here are their stories and photos.

As the beloved cat mascots of the 153rd Precinct, Dewey and Dick lived a life of luxury in the castle-like police station at 484 Liberty Avenue in the East New York section of Brooklyn.

Joe Fife (probably named for Commodore Joseph Fife, who began his naval career during the Civil War) was a prize-winning pedigree cat who lived a luxurious life in a villa in the Kingsbridge neighborhood of the Bronx.

He reportedly joined the crew of the USS President Lincoln shortly after the liner was placed into service as a WWI troop transport based at the Hoboken Port of Embarkation.

Two days after the new Hook and Ladder Company No. 10 of the Brooklyn Fire Department went into service, a new member was added to the roster: a small cat “who wore a fur coat which in color resembled a tortoise shell.”

In March 1916, the Richmond Hill Police precinct, which covered all of Richmond Hill, Woodhaven, Morris Park, and part of Forest Hills, was designated a mounted precinct. That is, every mounted police officer throughout Queens was transferred to the 283rd Precinct in Richmond Hill.

With more horses came more stables — and more vermin. What the Richmond Hill Police needed was a good to mouser to handle all the rats and mice that shared the stables with the horses.