During World War II, the United States Army Garrison at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn was an important staging area for the New York Port of Embarkation. The Fort Hamilton Fire Department, installed in December 1941, was one of many military installations within New York City that had a paid civilian fire department and fire apparatus during and after the war. The department had 27 enlisted men and a toothless mascot named Butch.
Archive for the ‘Dog Tails’ Category
1947: Butch, the WWII Canine Mascot of the Fort Hamilton Fire Department
Posted: 18th February 2023 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Mascots, Dog Tails, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: Army Garrison, Bronx cheer, FDNY history, Fort Hamilton, Gustav R. Moje, Rodman gun
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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…
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.
1913: Jim, the Great Dane of 57 West 57th Street Who Saved His Master
Posted: 26th June 2022 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Heroes, Dog TailsTags: 57 West 57th, Cosine Farm, H.T. Galpin, Harry Tower Galpin, New York City History, New York Women's League for Animals
Upcoming Book Preview: This story of a heroic Great Dane who saved his master and two other men during a fire and gas leak at 57 West 57th Street is one of almost 100 stories that will be featured in my upcoming book, The Bravest Animals of Gotham: Tales of FDNY Mascots of Old New York (2023). Jim was not a member of the FDNY, but he was a civilian first responder (or should I say fur-st responder?) who deserves an honorary mention in the book and on this site.
