Somewhere under an apartment building on West 121st Street, on a section of the street just east of Amsterdam Avenue called George Carlin Way, lies the body of a large Newfoundland who was buried on an early spring day in 1896. His grave, once “marked by a floral display seldom equaled by a rich man’s funeral,” is now under tons of concrete and steel. But the story of Nero, the beloved Newfoundland of Fire Patrol No. 5, will live on through this animal tale of Old New York.
Archive for September, 2021
1896: Nero, the Beloved Newfoundland of Harlem’s Fire Patrol No. 5
Posted: 17th September 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: 307 West 121st Street, FDNY Fire Patrol, FDNY history, Fire Patrol No. 5, George Carlin Way, Harlem history
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1907: Patrolman Joseph Probst Jr. of Richmond Hill and His Equine Partner
Posted: 8th September 2021 by The Hatching Cat in FDNY Horses/Mascots, Horse TalesTags: Jeremiah Watson Briggs, Joseph Probst Jr., Mounted Unit Troop G, NYPD history, Queens history, Richmond Hill Police
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we met Tramp and Sport, who were popular cat and dog mascots of the Richmond Hill Police in 1924. For this last story of the series, I will tell you about my great-grandfather Joseph Probst Jr., who served on the Richmond Hill Police mounted unit in the early 1900s. I will also explore the history of the Richmond Hill police station and Mounted Unit Troop G.
1924: Sport, the Richmond Hill Police Dog Who Rescued a Cat Family
Posted: 3rd September 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, Dog MascotsTags: Herbert Graham, New York Police Department, NYPD history, Richmond Hill Police, Richmond Hill Queens
A few weeks after a collie adopted the men of the Richmond Hill police station, he found a mother cat with newborn kittens in an alley near the police station. After carefully considering the situation, he decided to make preparations to be their knight in shining armor.