Under the 19th-century rules of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY), when horses were no longer fit for the hard service of pulling engines, hose reels, or ladder trucks, the department would sell them at auction to any huckster that needed an old horse to pull his cart or do his dirty work. But no such fate was to come to Jim—at least not if Chief Hugh Bonner or Engine 33 Captain William H. Nash had any say in the matter.
Archive for December, 2022
1879: Jim, the FDNY Fire Horse of Engine 33 Who Earned His Pension
Posted: 29th December 2022 by The Hatching Cat in FDNY Horses/Mascots, Horse TalesTags: Chief Hugh Bonner, Engine Company 33, Engine Company 52, FDNY history, William H. Nash
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1941: Sally Losch and Rascal Gilmartin, the First Seeing Eye Dogs to Ride the NYC Subway
Posted: 14th December 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, Dog TailsTags: Robert Losch, seeing eye dogs, The Lighthouse, The Seeing Eye, Thomas Gilmartin
Until recently, I never realized that service dogs such as Seeing Eye dogs were once banned from the NYC subways.
Here is the true story of Robert J. Losch and his dog, Sally, who fought to overturn the ban on service dogs in the subways. I discovered their story after finding a wonderful vintage photo of Thomas F. Gilmartin, Jr. and his Seeing Eye dog, Rascal…
