When a fire broke out in the basement of a large pet shop on Lexington Avenue, the half-brother of the famous Rin Tin Tin helped saved five Angora kittens who were trapped in the shop window and struggling to get out.
Archive for the ‘Dog Heroes’ Category
1926: Beauty, the Brother of Rin Tin Tin, Who Saved Pet Shop Kittens on Lexington Avenue
Posted: 19th January 2024 by The Hatching Cat in Animal Attractions, Dog HeroesTags: Animals of Old New York, Captain Joseph Hamlisch, Frank Semon, Rin Tin Tin
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1913: Don, the Talking Dog Who Saved a Life at Brighton Beach
Posted: 7th November 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, Dog TailsTags: Brighton Beach, Don the talking dog, Hammerstein's, Hotel Shelburne, John Y. McKane, Martha Haberland, Riccadonna
In December 1910, the New York Times ran a large article who could speak and form sentences up to four words long. The talking dog lived in a small village in Germany with a game warden named Herman Ebers.
The dog, who had a very Germanic name–Don (ha ha)–spoke in German. Which is probably why he refused to speak with the press when he arrived in New York in 1913 to start his American vaudeville tour.
A fun doggie tale, with some fascinating history about Brighton Beach and the Hotel Shelburne.
1895: Jack, the Fire Dog of FDNY Ladder 9 Who Dined With Teddy Roosevelt
Posted: 17th January 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: 209 Elizabeth Street, FDNY history, Ladder Company 9, Michael F. Lyons, Military Hall
Jack was a bona fide fire dog of Old New York, but the 10-year-old Dalmatian was also called a professional tramp. That’s because in his early days, before he became a hero, Jack was not completely loyal to his official company, Ladder 9 on Elizabeth Street. He enjoyed spending time at other firehouses and hobnobbing with Police Commissioner Teddy Roosevelt at his favorite Bowery restaurant.
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…
1889: Julia, The Lifesaving Dog of Marie Antoinette Nathalie Dowell Pollard
Posted: 5th September 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, Dog TailsTags: 35 West 14th Street, B.P. Worcester, Dogs of Old New York, Edward A. Pollard, Marie Antoinette Nathalie, Marie Antoinette Pollard
A few months ago, my friend Laurie Gwen Shapiro, a New York City author and documentary film maker (and fellow Syracuse University graduate), alerted me to a mystery story about a dog named Julia who was buried at Maple Grove Cemetery in Kew Gardens, Queens. All she had was a list of those buried at the cemetery, which included “Julia (1889), secretly buried dog who saved an apartment building of people from a fire.”
I told Laurie I loved a good animal mystery and would have to look into it. What I found was a remarkable story about a remarkable woman named Marie Antoinette Nathalie Dowell Pollard and her lifesaving coach dog, Julia.
