Mister: Billie Holiday's Canine Soul-Mate

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan and nicknamed Lady Day) loved dogs and had many during her life, including a poodle, a Great Dane, Chihuahuas and a wire-haired terrier, but the one who really captured her heart was a boxer named Mister.

Billie Holiday and her dog Mister

Billie Holiday, considered one of the best jazz vocalists of all time, lived a hard life of childhood poverty, early sexual abuse, racism, difficult relationships with men, depression and addiction before dying at a young age of 44 from heart and liver problems. Despite her troubles, she did find joy in her music and with her dogs, "her only trusted friends."

Mister, Holiday's favorite dog, would accompany her to Harlem's most glamorous clubs where he would eat plates of thick steak and keep fans at a polite distance while she performed. She would knit sweaters for the pampered pooch, cook for him, cloak him in a mink coat and take him on midnight walks.

In May 1947, Holiday was arrested for possession of narcotics and was sentenced to prison in West Virginia, having to leave Mister behind. When she was released in March 1948, the two were reunited. She didn't think Mister would recognize her but, according to her autobiography, when she got off the train to greet him, "He not only recognized me, but in a flash he leaped at me, kicked my hat off, and knocked me flat on my can in the middle of that little station. Then he began lapping me and loving me like crazy." Unfortunately, a woman in the crowd thought the dog was attacking her and screamed for help, causing a crowd to gather, including reporters - messing up her plans to reenter society quietly.

I am not sure when Mister passed away.

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Marilyn Monroe and Her Dog Maf

Marilyn Monroe loved dogs and had many throughout her life. Maf was one who outlived her.

Maf, a Maltese terrier, was sometimes described by Marilyn Monroe as a poodle. Some say Pat Newcomb, Marilyn's press agent, gave Maf to her but according to a statement made by Marilyn, her little white snowball was given to her by her dear old friend Frank Sinatra. It is believed that Sinatra bought Maf in 1961 from Natalie Wood's mother (a dog breeder), and Marilyn named the dog Mafia Honey as a humorous reference to Sinatra's alleged mafia connections.

The pampered dog was allowed to sleep on her expensive fur coat, accompanied her to fancy Hollywood restaurants and department stores, and even got to meet President Kennedy. Unfortunately, their time together was short-lived due to Marilyn's premature death in 1962. Maf was given to Gloria Lovell, Sinatra's secretary, and later tragically died when he was run over by a car.

Old Drum: Man's Best Friend

It was the closing argument, A Tribute to the Dog, at Old Drum's trial that coined the phrase "man's best friend".

Monument to Old Drum, Johnson County Courthouse

In October 1869, Old Drum, a black and tan hound dog belonging to Charles Burden, was found dead lying on the banks of Big Creek in Missouri. Burden sued his brother-in-law Leonidas Hornsby (a farmer who believed the hound killed some of his sheep) for damages claiming he was responsible for his dog's death by having his nephew shoot him.

When the case went to trial for the fourth time, Burden was represented by George Graham Vest, a lawyer who was well known for his skills in oration and debate. His closing remarks, with no reference to the evidence or to Old Drum, was a powerful tribute to all dogs and their masters:

Gentlemen of the jury. The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter whom he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he may lose. It flies away from him perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog.

Gentlemen of the jury. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.

When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an outcast into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its embrace and his body is laid in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by his graveside will the noble dog be found, his head between his paws and his eyes sad but open, in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even unto death.

The jury quickly returned a verdict in favor of Burden in the amount of $50 plus court costs.

In 2017, the Missouri State Senate officially designated Old Drum as "Missouri's Historical Dog".

A Tribute to the Dog, Man's Best Friend Poster
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Martha: Inspired Paul McCartney

Martha My Dear, a song on the English rock band's only double album The Beatles (aka the White Album), was named after Paul McCartney's beloved sheepdog.

Martha & Paul McCartney

In 1966, Paul McCartney, who grew up without a dog, decided it was time to have one for his new home in London. He chose an Old English sheepdog, named her Martha, and the two quickly developed a strong bond. Paul recalls, "She was a dear pet of mine. I remember John being amazed to see me being so loving to an animal. He said, 'I've never seen you like that before.' I've since thought, you know, he wouldn't have. It's only when you're cuddling around with a dog that you're in that mode, and she was a very cuddly dog."

In 1968, Paul wrote Martha My Dear, and many assumed it was about a woman. However, according to Paul, he made the lyrics general enough so they could be heard as a message to a woman or dog. "It's a communication of some sort of affection, but in a slightly abstract way. 'You silly girl, look what you've done,' all that sort of stuff. These songs grow. Whereas it would appear to anybody else to be a song to a girl called Martha, it’s actually a dog, and our relationship was platonic, believe me."

Martha, my dear
Though I spend my days in conversation
Please, remember me
Martha, my love
Don't forget me
Martha, my dear

Hold your head up, you silly girl
Look what you've done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly girl

Take a good look around you
Take a good look you're bound to see
That you and me were meant to be
With each other
Silly girl

Hold your hand out, you silly girl
See what you've done
When you find yourself in the thick of it
Help yourself to a bit of what is all around you
Silly girl

Martha, my dear
You have always been my inspiration
Please, be good to me
Martha, my love
Don't forget me
Martha, my dear

Martha passed away in 1981 at the age of 15.

Dormie: A Rich Man's Dog Tried for Cat Murder

Dormie made history in 1921 when he was tried for the murder of 14 cats in San Francisco, California.

Dormie being paw printed before the trial

Dormie, a full-blooded Airedale, belonged to a wealthy man named Eaton McMillan. He was charged with killing 14 cats, the principal victim being Sunbeam (a Persian-Angora cat owned by Marjorie Ingals), and went on trial before a jury. According to the Los Angeles Herald, 21 December 1921: "It was the first time in the history of jurisprudence that a canine has been brought to trial for a capital crime. This was no matter for the city "pound" department, or the cruelty to animals commission. It was a real trial of a real dog on a real charge of murder." It was also reported that the court was uncertain whether to try him of 14 murders or 126 murders (taking into consideration the nine lives of each cat) and whether a jury of his peers should be dogs. "If a jury trial is agreed upon, only a jury of dogs can legally be employed. For only dogs are the equals of dogs." James Brennan, Dormie's attorney, said most Airedales were of a higher order than most men, so the question of equality was quickly dropped.

During the trial, Brennan had other Airedales, other breeds of dogs and Dormie come into the courtroom so Ingals could identify the culprit. She did identify Dormie, but the identification was set aside since he was the only dog that was escorted into the room by a policeman. The defense argued that Dormie was a friendly dog and was loved by many of the neighborhood kids. A character witness was even brought in, an Airedale named Rowdy - who was the brother of  Laddie Boy, President Harding's dog. Rowdy, who had been a personal bodyguard of a Persian cat for many years (and who mourned for days after the cat's death), was to show the jury that Airedales did not hate cats.

The trial ended with a hung jury. Eleven jurors voted to acquit, while only one wanted Dormie to receive the death penalty. Brennan filed a motion for dismissal. The Judge granted the motion, declaring that the San Francisco ordinance which put Dormie on trial was contrary to the Constitution of the state of California. According to the law at that time, a licensed dog had the right to roam free and unlicensed pets like cats did not. Therefore, if a wandering cat encountered a free-roaming dog, it was the cat's responsibility if harmed.

Strider: Robert Plant's Blue-Eyed Merle Dog

Strider, Robert Plant's collie with blue eyes and a mottled merle coat, was the inspiration to Led Zeppelin's song Bron-Y-Aur Stomp.

Robert Plant and his dog Strider

In 1970, Bron-Y-Aur Stomp - as well as most of the other songs on Led Zeppelin's third album Led Zeppelin III - was written by Robert Plant, the lead singer of the English rock band, guitarist Jimmy Page and bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones at a small 18th century cottage known as Bron-Yr-Aur (meaning "breast of gold" in Welsh - as in a hillside of gold) in the wilderness of Wales. This folk-rock song is about Robert Plant walking in the countryside with his dog Strider:

Ah caught you smiling at me,
That's the way it should be,
Like a leaf is to a tree, so fine
Ah all the good times we had,
I sang love songs so glad
Always smiling, never sad, so fine

As we walk down the country lanes,
I'll be singing a song, hear me calling your name
Hear the wind within the trees,
Telling mother nature 'bout you and me

Well if the sunshine's so bright,
Or on our way it's darkest night
The road we choose is always right, so fine
Ah can your love be so strong
When so many loves go wrong
Will our love go on and on and on and on and on and on?

As we walk down the country lanes,
I'll be singing a song, Hear me calling your name
Hear the wind within the trees,
Telling mother nature 'bout you and me

My, my la de la come on now it ain't too far,
Tell your friends all around the world,
Ain't no companion like a blue eyed merle
Come on now well let me tell you,
What you're missing, missing, 'round them brick walls

So of one thing I am sure,
It's a friendship so pure,
Angels singing all around My dog is so fine
Yeah, ain't but one thing to do
Spend my nat'ral life with you,
You're the finest dog I knew, so fine
When you're old and your eyes are dim,
There ain't no old shep gonna happen again,
We'll still go walking down country lanes,
I'll sing the same old songs, hear me call your name

When performing live, Robert Plant was known to shout out "Strider!" following the song's final line "Hear me call your name" - you can hear it in the video below.

Bron-Y-Aur Stomp (Live at Earls Court 1975)

Peps: Richard Wagner's Favorite Music Critic

Wilhelm Richard Wagner, a 19th century German composer and animal lover, would take advice from his dog Peps when composing his music, including his famous 1845 opera Tannhäuser.

Minna, Richard Wagner's first wife, holding Peps

Richard Wagner noticed that his dog Peps, a Cavalier King Charles spaniel, had a strong appreciation for music, and would respond differently to melodies depending upon their musical keys. According to Wagner's biographer, Peps constantly sat near his master at the piano and would sometimes howl piteously into his face, suggesting the music did not suit him. If it didn't suit Peps, it didn't suit Wagner. Some critics commented that Peps was the only critic Wagner ever listened to.

When Peps became ill with little life left in him, Wagner scarcely left his dog's side - even putting off important work. After Peps passed away, the composer wrote to his friend Praeger: "He died in my arms on the night of the ninth, passing away without a sound, quietly and peacefully. On the morrow we buried him in the garden beside the house. I cried much, and since then I have felt bitter pain and sorrow for the dear friend of the past thirteen years."

Michelangelo's Pomeranian

It is said that the great Italian sculptor and painter Michelangelo (1475-1564) owned a Pomeranian, and the dog would sit on a satin pillow while he watched him paint the Sistine Chapel, one of the greatest artistic achievements in history.

Dog Comforts Mary, Queen of Scots at Execution

Mary, Queen of Scots had always been fond of little dogs, and even managed to have one by her side at the time of her brutal ending.

When Mary, Queen of Scots was sent to Fotheringhay to await her death, she was allowed to bring some servants and her dogs with her. On the day of her execution (February 8, 1587), she hid one of her small dogs under her long skirts and petticoats. No one noticed the dog until after the beheading. According to Robert Wynkfield, a witness to the execution:

"Then one of the executioners, pulling off her garters, espied her little dog which was crept under her cloths, which could not be gotten forth by force, yet afterwards would not depart from the dead corpse, but came and lay between her head and her shoulders, which being imbrued with her blood was carried away and washed, as all things else were that had any blood was either burned or washed clean, and the executioners sent away with money for their fees."

The little dog - one source says a Skye terrier and another says a small white dog (I believe a Maltese) - never moved when the axe struck her three times, and afterwards refused to leave her side. After being washed, one source says the dog refused to eat and died of a broken heart shortly afterwards, and another says it was given to a French princess and lived the rest of its life in France.

Fox Terrier: Typhoid Mary's Companion

Mary Mallon, aka Typhoid Mary, was a cook who was found to be a healthy carrier of the bacteria that caused typhoid fever - spreading the disease to others. In 1907, when she was forced to live in an isolated cottage that was part of the Riverside Hospital (an infectious-disease hospital) on North Brother island, off the Bronx shoreline, she was given a fox terrier as a companion. Not understanding why this was happening, Mallon wrote, "I never had typhoid in my life, and have always been healthy. Why should I be banished like a leper and compelled to live in solitary confinement with only a dog for a companion?"

Poster warning of the dangers of food contamination.
Doctors theorized poor hand washing when handling food was the likely cause of passing along typhoid germs.

In 1910, a new health commissioner released Mallon from quarantine with the agreement that she never work with food again. At first she didn't, but not being able to make as good of money as a cook and believing that she posed no risk to others, she changed her name to Mary Brown and got a job as a cook. In 1915, another outbreak occurred at a maternity hospital and it was soon discovered that their cook was Typhoid Mary. She was sent back to her cottage on the island.

After Mallon suffered a stroke in 1932, she was transferred to the hospital where she stayed until her death in 1938 at the age of 69. She was blamed for 51 cases and 3 deaths of typhoid. North Brother island was abandoned in 1963 and some say her ghost still roams the hospital corridors.

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Pablo Picasso and Lump the Dog

Pablo Picasso loved dogs, almost as much as women. He owned many breeds during his life, but Lump, a borrowed dachshund, was the only one he took in his arms.

Picasso and Lump

Lump, the German word for "rascal", was born in 1956 and belonged to Picasso's friend David Douglas Duncan, a photographer for Life magazine. In 1957, Duncan spent some time at Picasso's villa near Cannes in the South of France to photograph his life. Because Lump did not get along well with his other dog, an Afghan hound who would roll the dachshund around like a toy, Duncan decided to bring him with him.

Lump took an instant liking to Picasso. The artist and his partner (soon to be wife) Jacqueline were sitting at the table eating lunch when Lump first met him. The dog immediately went to Picasso, placed his front paws on him, jumped into his arms and gave him a kiss. That very day, Picasso did his first portrait of Lump on a dinner plate. He often included his dogs into his artwork, and Lump can be seen in several of his interpretations of Diego Velásquez's 1656 painting Las Meninas - replacing the big hound in the foreground.

Picasso and Lump quickly became best friends. According to Duncan, "This was a love affair. Picasso would take Lump in his arms. He would feed him from his hand. Hell, that little dog just took over. He ran the damn house." When it was time for Duncan to leave, Picasso wanted Lump to stay with him and Duncan agreed. In an interview on a visit to Paris, Duncan recalled "He [Lump] more or less said, 'Duncan, that's it, I'm staying here.' And he did, for the next six years."

Lump and Picasso's boxer Yan

Six years after leaving Lump with Picasso, Duncan visited the artist and learned that his dog was suffering from a spinal problem common to dachshunds. Lump was being treated by a veterinarian, but the doctor told Duncan he could not be cured. Duncan decided to take Lump to Stuttgart, Germany (where he had bought the dog) and found a veterinarian to care for him. One year later, Lump recovered and went home with Duncan. He lived many more years, but never accompanied his master again on his visits to Picasso's. Lump passed away on March 29, 1973 and Picasso passed away several days later on April 8.

When asked if Picasso neglected Lump (because of the spinal problem), Duncan replied "No, he'd have gotten sick anyway. Lump had an absolutely pampered life there. Picasso once said, 'Lump, he's not a dog, he's not a little man, he's somebody else.'"

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Sir Edward Elgar and His Much Wanted Dogs

Sir Edward Elgar, the famous English composer, loved dogs and had a spaniel named Marco before getting married. It would be a long time before he would own another.

Edward Elgar with his dogs Marco, Mina and Meg

In 1889, at the age of 31, Sir Edward Elgar married Caroline Alice Roberts. Unlike Elgar, Alice could not stand dogs and forbade them in the household. Although he could not have a dog of his own, he did enjoy spending time with a bulldog named Dan who belonged to his friend George Sinclair. In fact, Dan is portrayed in his Variation XI of the Enigma Variations. The variation portrays the dog falling into the River Wye, his paddling upstream and his triumphant bark when reaching land.

When Alice passed away, after 30 years of marriage, Elgar (who was devastated by his wife's death) was finally able to own a dog. Actually, he got three - another spaniel named Marco and two terriers named Meg and Mina.

The dogs were almost always at his side, and when they couldn't be, Elgar would often keep in contact with them. When celebrating his 70th birthday, he wished a good night to his dog(s) during a live radio broadcast. On another occasion, when dining at a fancy Club, he received an urgent phone call. When he took the call, fellow diners could hear loud barking from the background and Elgar firmly telling someone to stop biting the cushions.

According to The animal writer Rowland Jones c. 1930, "At tea-time the three dogs [Marco, Mina and Meg] line up in front of Sir Edward, who sits on the arm of a couch and gives them sweet biscuits and cake. At a word they simultaneously rise up like soldiers and stand at attention. A friend of Sir Edward's calls them The Three Musketeers because of this trick."

I am not sure how long each dog lived, but it is said Sir Edward Elgar lived the last 14 years of his life with dogs.

Flyer and Scipio: The Wright Brothers' Dogs

Orville and Wilbur Wright, the famous American aviation pioneers who made the world's first powered flight in 1903, loved dogs.

Flyer

The Wright brothers' lives were so busy, neither had time to date or marry but they did find time to include a dog in their lives.

In 1908, the Wright brothers were ready to show the world their flying machine. They built two planes. Orville would take one to show the US Army and Wilbur would take the other to France to show the public. Wilbur's plane was damaged when it got to France so he had to spend days in a shed rebuilding it. While there, a stray dog approached Wilbur and the two became friends. Wilbur adopted the dog and named him Flyer. Orville later met up with Wilbur, and for the next year the brothers and Flyer would travel Europe showing off their plane. When they headed back to the US, Wilbur felt it was best to leave Flyer with their European business agent Hart O. Berg and his wife Edith. Wilbur died a few years later in 1912 at the age of 45.

Scipio and Orville

Later in life, Orville bought a St. Bernard puppy for $75. His sister named the dog Scipio after the Roman general who is best known for defeating Hannibal at the Battle of Zama in 202 BC. Apparently, Orville was very fond of his dog because when he died in 1948 (15 years after Scipio died), there were still pictures of his St. Bernard in his wallet.

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Napoleon's Love/Hate Relationship with Dogs

Napoleon was not fond of dogs, until later in his life.

There is no record of Napoleon having a dog as a child or during his early military career. The first mention of a dog in his life comes when he married Josephine in 1796. The dog's name was Fortune. He belonged to Josephine and was very much pampered by her. Napoleon was not happy about this, especially when he had to choose between sleeping on their bed with the dog or sleeping somewhere else. "Do you see that gentleman?" said Napoleon to a friend while pointing to the dog. "He is my rival. He was in possession of Madam's bed when I married her. I wished to remove him but it was quite useless to think of it. I was told that I must either sleep elsewhere or consent to share my bed. That annoyed me considerably, but I had to make up my mind. I gave way. The favorite was less accommodating." The general was particularly unhappy when the dog would attack him when he and his wife were passionately "in flagrante delicto". "I bear proofs on my legs of what I say," Napoleon said to his friend.

A few years later, when the British boarded the warship Cleopatra after the ship surrendered, a Newfoundland dog was the first to reach the deck. According to reports, Napoleon slammed his hand down on the table and muttered "Dogs! Must I be defeated by them on the battlefield as well as in the bedroom?"

One day, the feisty Fortune picked a fight with the cook's Mastiff and the result was fatal for the Pug. Josephine was quite distraught over losing her beloved dog, and was soon given another Pug by Lieutenant Hippolyte Charles who was part of the household guard and also one of Josephine's lovers. One morning, the cook apologized to the general for his dog's actions and informed him that he was keeping his dog locked up. Napoleon's response was "Let him out. Perhaps he can rid me of this new one as well."

In 1815, when pulling away from the island Elba, Napoleon slipped and fell overboard. He was not a good swimmer and the weight of his full dressed uniform and large iron sword strapped to him made staying afloat difficult. The general was floundering in the water when a Newfoundland dog belonging to a fisherman came to his rescue. Napoleon was able to hang on to the dog until the sailors were able to turn around and rescue him.

A few months later, the night after the Battle of Bassano, Napoleon walked across the battlefield covered with corpses. According to his memoirs:

"We were alone, in the deep solitude of a beautiful moonlit night. Suddenly a dog leaped out from under the cloak of a corpse. He came running toward us and then, almost immediately afterward ran back to his dead master, howling piteously. He licked the soldier's unfeeling face, then ran back to us — repeating this several times. He was seeking both help and revenge. I don't know whether it was the mood of the moment, or the place, or the time, or the action in itself, or what — at any rate, it's a fact that nothing I saw on any other battlefield ever produced a like impression on me. I stopped involuntarily to contemplate this spectacle. This man, I said to myself, has friends, perhaps. He may have some at the camp, in his company — and here he lies, abandoned by all except his dog. What a lesson nature was teaching us through an animal.

"What a strange thing is man! How mysterious are the workings of his sensibility! I had commanded in battles that were to decide the fate of a whole army, and had felt no emotion. I had watched the execution of manoeuvres that were bound to cost the lives of many among us, and my eyes had remained dry. And suddenly I was shaken, turned inside out, by a dog howling in pain!"

Before Napoleon's death in 1821, he owned a black and white dog of unknown breed named Sambo. It is said he would walk the dog often and had a real fondness for him.

How a Dog Inspired Napoleon after Battle Bassano Card
by inspiring_gifts

Old Photos of Dressed Up Dogs Ready to Go Trick or Treating

In the history of Halloween it appears American dogs began dressing up and going trick or treating about the same time the children did.

Some historians believe that most of the traditions of Halloween date back to around 800 BC with the Celtic people. The Celtics celebrated their New Year on November 1st, when the weather was turning colder and the last crop was harvested. This was a big turning point for them which they believed was a magical time - when the dead would roam the earth. So when one year turned to the next, the young men would dress up in white costumes and black masks to protect themselves from evil spirits - this was to help fool evil spirits into thinking they were an evil spirit as well.

Trick or treating, or guising (from disguising), traditions began in the Middle Ages. During Hallowmas (Nov 1), children would dress up like a spiritual being and go door to door to beg for money or food in exchange for songs and prayers, often said on behalf of the dead.

The practice of guising came to the US in the late 19th or early 20th century. The first documented reference is in 1911. It was in the 1920s and 1930s that the practice of trick or treating replaced guising. The earliest known document with the word trick or treat is a news article dated November 4, 1927. The practice first started in the western part of the country and slowly made its way across the country. During WWII, it took a brief respite because of sugar rations, but came back strong afterwards. Today, Halloween is one of the most commercially successful holidays in the US.

I don't know when families started to dress up their dogs to take trick or treating, but by the appearance of the first photo at the top of the page I would say it was about the time when Halloween was making its way across the country.

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Lord Byron's Famous Epitaph to His Beloved Dog Boatswain

The 19th century romantic poet Lord Byron had a great love of animals, especially for his Newfoundland dog named Boatswain. After the dog's passing, Byron created one of his most famous poems Epitaph to a Dog.

Lord Byron, famous for his poetry and infamous for his lifestyle, truly loved animals. In addition to all the dogs, cats and horses he had during his lifetime, Byron owned a bear, monkeys, a fox, a badger, a goat and many types of birds including an eagle, falcon, peacocks and an Egyptian crane. When he was not allowed to have his pet dog Boatswain live with him at Cambridge University, he bought his bear to live with him instead since there was no mention of bears in the statutes.

Boatswain, only five years old, contracted rabies. Despite the chances of being bit and infected with the deadly disease, Lord Byron nursed his dog until he passed in 1808. Although deep in debt at the time, Byron honored his dog with an impressive marble monument and poem:

When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor's art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below:
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen
Not what he was, but what he should have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Master's own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonour'd falls, unnotic'd all his worth,
Deny'd in heaven the Soul he held on earth:
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debas'd by slavery, or corrupt by power,
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye! who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on, it honors none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend's remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one—and here he lies.

Epitaph of a Dog, Lord Byron Poem Acrylic Print
by inspiring_gifts

A Royal Palace with Many Pampered Dogs

The maharaja (prince) of Junagadh, India owned 800 dogs and pampered every one of them.

Each dog had their own room in the lavish palace of the maharaja, and each had their own personal servant. They were often dressed up in formal evening suits so they could go on rickshaw rides around town. The eccentric maharaja would even spend large amounts of money on grand birthday parties. Probably the most extravagant event was the wedding of his favorite dog Roshanara to a royal golden retriever that belonged to the Nawab of Mangrol. Kathleen Walker-Meikle, author of The Dog Book: Dogs of Historical Distinction, described the event:

"Perfumed and in brocade and pearls, Roshanara was brought to the Dubar Hall in a palanquin while Bobby was greeted at the train station by a military band and the maharajah on an elephant with 250 brocade-dressed dogs (also on elephants). The breakfast was attended by 700 guests from Indian princely families, who were entertained by dancing girls singing for the dogs and Mendelsohn's "Wedding March." Alas, the wedding night was interrupted by the majarajah himself, who sent Bobby to the kennels so he could have his beloved Roshanara on his bed as usual."

The dogs also had their own hospital with a British doctor to tend to their ailments. When a dog passed away, a state mourning was declared. Oil portraits of his favorite dogs, including one of the wedding, are still exhibited in Junagadh Palace.

Nero: A Rich Dog During the Klondike Gold Rush

Nero became famous in history because of his owner Belinda Mulrooney, the richest woman in the Klondike - thanks to the gold rush.

Belinda & Nero

At a young age Belinda Mulrooney displayed her entrepreneurial skills. She started with a sandwich stand in Chicago at the Colombian Exposition. Then she opened an ice cream parlor in California. After the parlor burned down, she worked on a passenger steamship as a stewardess. Because of previous gold strikes in Alaska and the Yukon, Mulroooney headed north and worked at a small clothing store. When she heard about a gold rush in the Klondike, she headed to the Yukon and opened a restaurant near the miners.

One day, an Englishman who was down on his luck asked Belinda if she could care for his St. Bernard puppy while he worked during the mining season. He told her if the dog chooses to stay with her when he returns she can keep him. When it was time to choose, Nero chose Belinda.

Her restaurant business was booming and Belinda was becoming a wealthy woman. She was paid with gold dust, and did not trust anyone but herself to take it to the bank. The trip to the bank was 18 miles away so she would use Nero to help carry the heavy sacks of gold dust on his back. One day when making the trip, Nero slipped on a wet log while crossing a deep stream and fell into the water. The dog was unable to save himself because of the weight of the gold he was carrying so Belinda came to his rescue. She held on to a tree and was able to grab Nero's collar but she couldn't pull him in and she didn't have enough hands to cut the sacks off of him. A couple of miners walked by and one of them tried to help but when he held onto the thin tree it snapped and both fell in the water. Once in the water, Belinda was able to cut the sacks off Nero. Everyone survived the ordeal but two sacks of gold dust were lost.

Belinda's business was so profitable she soon built a grand hotel in town. She included a kennel in the cellar for both Nero and the miners dogs. One day, the hotel staff was instructed to take care of Nero when she visits her family in Pennsylvania. When the steamship carrying her moved away from the wharf, Nero jumped into the water in hopes to catching up with Belinda. Knowing the dog wouldn't make it, the ship stopped and some miners pulled Nero on board. The two traveled together to Seattle and Belinda was able to find someone there to care for Nero while she went to Pennsylvania. Months later, when she went to pick Nero up she was told her dog had run away. She went looking for him and eventually found her dirty and hungry dog. After a Turkish bath and some good food, Nero was back to his old self.

Belinda married and later moved to Paris with her husband. She had to leave Nero behind. A few years later, she divorced and returned to Canada. It is uncertain to what happened to Nero.

Nero's story, as well as other dog stories, is included in the book called Gold Rush Dogs.

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Sigmund Freud's Helpful Dogs

Three chows made history by helping the famous Sigmund Freud, in both his personal and professional life.

Jofi & Sigmund Freud

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, did not become a dog lover until he was in his 70s. It all started when he bought his daughter an Alsatian shepherd to protect her on her evening walks through the city. Freud ended up falling in love with the dog, and in 1928 he got his own - a chow named Lun-Yu. Unfortunately, 15 months after getting her, she was run over by a train. Freud was devastated.

Several months later, Freud was emotionally ready to have another dog in his life. In fact, he got two dogs and both were chows. One was named Jofi, the sister of Lun-Yu, and the other was named Lun. I am not sure if Lun was related to the others, but either way, the two dogs did not get along well together so Freud decided to give Lun to a friend. Freud and Jofi became especially close to one another. She was almost always by his side, even when he was in his office treating clients.

The more Freud got to know dogs, the more he believed they had the ability to read humans. He noticed that when the clients were calm, Jofi would stay near them, and if they were anxious, she would move away from them. Freud also noticed that clients were more open and candid when Jofi was present.

According to a client of Freud's, a psychiatrist named Roy Grinker, when Jofi would leave his side and scratch at the door to get out, Freud would tell him the dog did not approve of what he was saying. And if the dog wanted back in the office, she was giving him another chance. Once, when Jofi jumped on top of him as he laid on the couch in an especially emotional state, Freud told Grinker the dog was excited because he had discovered the source of his anxiety.

After attending so many sessions, Jofi began to internalize the duration of them. When Jofi got up and yawned, Freud knew the hour was up.

During his time with Jofi, Freud was being treated for cancer of the jaw. The devoted chow provided much comfort to him during the hard times. After a series of operations, Freud wrote to a friend "I wish you could have seen with me what sympathy Jofi shows me during these hellish days, as if she understood everything."

Freud wrote about Jofi in his diaries often, and would spare no expense on her - including paying for a complicated surgery to remove some ovarian cysts. In January 1937, a few days after the surgery, Jofi died from heart failure. Freud was deeply devastated, but knew he couldn't live the remaining years of his life without a dog. The day after Jofi's passing, Lun (the chow Freud previously gave to a friend) was returned to him.

Freud enjoyed the company of Lun but as his last days neared, Lun began to avoid him. He believed it was due to the putrid odor of infection coming from his face. He didn't blame the dog for avoiding him, but without her he became more depressed while suffering from immense pain. Sigmund Freud was ready for his life to end. He passed away on September 23, 1939 after receiving a lethal dose of morphine.

"Often when stroking Jofi, I have caught myself humming a melody which, unmusical as I am, I can’t help recognizing as the aria from Don Giovanni: A bond of friendship unites us both...," wrote Freud.

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Rufus: Winston Churchill's Beloved Poodle

Rufus became famous as the little poodle who followed Churchill around while the Prime Minister successfully led Britain through WW II.

Sir Winston Churchill, the former Prime Minister of the UK, was known as the British Bulldog because of his no-nonsense temperament, and some say his looks. So, you would think being an animal lover, a bulldog might be his favorite dog. Actually he did have a bulldog named Dodo, as well as many other animals in his life, but the one that held a really special place in his heart was his little poodle Rufus.

The two were almost inseparable. Rufus was often at Churchill's side while the Prime Minister dealt with the hardships of World War II. The dog would join him at luncheons and official meetings, but when he wasn't invited Churchill would kindly give his poodle a reason. For instance "No, Rufus, I haven't found it necessary to ask you to join the wartime cabinet."

When the two weren't dealing with business, Rufus led a rather leisure life at the Prime Minister's lodgings. Not only was he allowed to dine with the family, he was served first before the others could eat. He was also privileged to sit on his master's lap when looking at the screen. Once when the two were watching a scene from Oliver Twist, Churchill covered the dog's eyes when the character Bill Sykes drowned a dog. He told Rufus "Don't look now, dear. I'll tell you about it afterwards."

Sadly, in 1947 Rufus was hit by a car and died while Churchill was away at a political conference. The British Bulldog was devastated.

Shortly after the death of Rufus, the Managing Editor of Life Magazine gave Churchill a poodle that looked a lot like Rufus. In fact, Churchill named the dog Rufus II but said the II was silent. Rufus II went on to live a long and happy life.