Approached by a curious reporter for the New York Times on a cold, wet day in January 1899, the young woman attracting so much attention on Fifth Avenue explained that she was getting paid by the Exchange for Women’s Work to walk dogs. The reporter did some investigating into this curious new dog walker career…
Archive for April, 2022
1899: The First Professional Dog Walker of New York City
Posted: 29th April 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog TailsTags: Candace Wheeler, Dog walker, Dogs of Old New York, Mary Atwater Choate, New York City History, New York Exchange for Women's Work
Dog Days of Gotham: Free Virtual Talk With Jane’s Walk NYC
Posted: 20th April 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Tails, Virtual EventsTags: Dogs of Old New York, Free Virtual Event, Jane's Walk NYC, Municipal Art Society, NYC History
On Saturday, May 7, I will be leading a virtual presentation for the Municipal Art Society of New York called “The Dog Days of Gotham.” The presentation will be one of hundreds of virtual and guided tours that will take place the weekend of May 6-8 as part of Jane’s Walk NYC. Registration for this free event is required.
1910 and 1931: Happy and Pansy, the Cat-Saving Fire Dogs of the FDNY
Posted: 16th April 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: Engine 225, Engine 36, FDNY history, FDNY mascots, fire dogs, John H. Doherty
In 1910 and 1931, Happy and Pansy were two cat-saving fire dogs of the FDNY who ran into burning buildings to save their natural enemy.
1915: Bouncer, Nellie, and Willie, the Cats and Goat of Fire Patrol 3
Posted: 1st April 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: 240 West 30th Street, Cats of Old New York, FDNY history, FDNY mascots, Fire Patrol No. 3
Five years after their new house opened, the patrolmen were still without a mascot. They wanted one, but they did not want a canine mascot. As a salvage corps, the men of Fire Patrol 3 had an immense territory to cover—from river to river and from 14th Street to 57th Street—which made it impractical for them to have a dog trained to follow the apparatus to fires.
So, when the opportunity to acquire a proper mascot presented itself at a fire at Seventh Avenue and Twenty-Eighth Street in October 1900, the men acted immediately.