Owney

Freelance writer and dedicated dog lover, Eve Carr writes about Owney, the mascot of the U.S. Railway Mail Service in the The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg,VA).

The cute Irish terrier mutt was considered a good luck charm by Railway mail clerks in the late 1800s . At a time when train wrecks were all too common, no train Owney rode was ever in a wreck. They adopted Owney as their unofficial mascot, marking his travels by placing medals and tags on his collar.

Carr says, "By Aug. 19, 1895, the postal dog had become quite famous, and he then embarked on his most adventurous trip: a journey around the world"

"Traveling as Mr. Owney, 'registered dog' on trains and steamships, he made his way from Tacoma, Wash., to Canada, Mexico, across Europe, China, Japan, Suez, Algiers and the Azores ... "

After he died, postal clerks collected money for his preservation by a taxidermist. Owney has been on exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. since 1911.

To read her entire article, click here.

For more on Owney, click here.