In 1921, Mrs. William Kissam Vanderbilt purchased a thoroughbred German police dog while traveling in Belgium. She presented the dog to Mr. and Mrs. S.W. Watson of Harlem, who at one time had been paid servants in the Vanderbilt mansion. German police dogs from Ghent, Belgium, were quite popular with dog lovers and breeders in […]
Posts Tagged ‘New York City History’
1929: Billy, The German Police Dog of Harlem Honored With a Human Funeral Service
Posted: 7th May 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Dog Tails, Hartsdale Pet CemeteryTags: Charles Henry Hall, Gabriel Furman, Hartsdale Pet Cemetery, Louise B. Hart, New York City History, S.W. Watson, Watt-Pinkney Estate
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1911: Pat, The Old Irish Donkey of Arthur Avenue That Never Missed a St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Posted: 9th March 2018 by The Hatching Cat in Animal AttractionsTags: Arthur Avenue, Michael O'Connell, New York City History, St. Patrick's Day, St. Patrick's Day Parade
In the early nineteenth century, a famous Irish political leader named Daniel O’Connell of Cahersiveen, County Kerry, had a donkey that he called Valiante. An old wives’ tale suggested that if a child had the measles, whooping cough, or any other childhood ailment, he or she could be cured by passing under and over O’Connell’s donkey […]



