“The barking of two dogs, answering each other on the wind and sleet swept East River saved the lives of more than 80 men, women and children asleep in the cabins of a line of 40 coal barges, torn from their moorings, at the foot of East 96th Street.”–New York Daily News, December 27, 1926
Archive for the ‘FDNY Horses/Mascots’ Category
1892: Chappie, the Pedigree Fire Dog of New York City’s Flatiron District
Posted: 9th November 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: Engine Company No. 14, FDNY history, fire dogs, Flatiron District, New York City History
One of my favorite fire-cat stories is about Peter and Chops, the beloved firefighter felines of Engine Company No. 14 in New York City’s Flatiron District. When I wrote the story about Peter and Chops for my book, The Cat Men of Gotham, I didn’t realize that they had a canine predecessor.
I recently discovered the wonderful story of Chappie, a pedigree pit bull coach dog gifted by William Waldorf Astor who also called the Engine 14 firehouse his home.
1891: Patsey, The State Street Fire Cat of Brooklyn’s Hook and Ladder Company 10
Posted: 5th October 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Cat Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: 264 State Street, Brooklyn Fire Department, Brooklyn History, Cats of Old New York, Fire Cats, Ladder Company 110, Schermerhorn Street
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.”
1896: Nero, the Beloved Newfoundland of Harlem’s Fire Patrol No. 5
Posted: 17th September 2021 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Mascots, FDNY Horses/MascotsTags: 307 West 121st Street, FDNY Fire Patrol, FDNY history, Fire Patrol No. 5, George Carlin Way, Harlem history
Somewhere under an apartment building on West 121st Street, on a section of the street just east of Amsterdam Avenue called George Carlin Way, lies the body of a large Newfoundland who was buried on an early spring day in 1896. His grave, once “marked by a floral display seldom equaled by a rich man’s funeral,” is now under tons of concrete and steel. But the story of Nero, the beloved Newfoundland of Fire Patrol No. 5, will live on through this animal tale of Old New York.
1907: Patrolman Joseph Probst Jr. of Richmond Hill and His Equine Partner
Posted: 8th September 2021 by The Hatching Cat in FDNY Horses/Mascots, Horse TalesTags: Jeremiah Watson Briggs, Joseph Probst Jr., Mounted Unit Troop G, NYPD history, Queens history, Richmond Hill Police
In Part 1 and Part 2 of this series, we met Tramp and Sport, who were popular cat and dog mascots of the Richmond Hill Police in 1924. For this last story of the series, I will tell you about my great-grandfather Joseph Probst Jr., who served on the Richmond Hill Police mounted unit in the early 1900s. I will also explore the history of the Richmond Hill police station and Mounted Unit Troop G.
