Archive for the ‘Cat Mascots’ Category

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.

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.”