Famous dogs

Dogs famous in their own right

Ashley Whippet, the first frisbee dog superstar and arguably the best. Certainly the most famous canine athlete.
Balto, final lead dog of 1925 serum run to Nome which relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska to combat an epidemic
Beautiful Joe, an abused dog that inspired an 1894 bestselling novel
Belka, a dog aboard Sputnik 5
Blue, Don Cherry’s dog
Dempsey, condemned to death under the United Kingdom’s Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 but finally reprieved after 3 years of legal battles
Greyfriars Bobby, a dog loyal to its master long after the master’s death
Hachiko, a symbol of loyalty in Japan, now honored by a statue in Tokyo
Handsome Dan, the Yale University mascot
Laika, the dog aboard Sputnik 2
Lucille, the dog in Pack of Two by Caroline Knapp
Nipper, the HMV (His Master’s Voice) dog
Old Shep – after seeing the coffin of his master loaded onto a train in Fort Benton, Montana, Old Shep maintained a vigil at the station for over five years.
Owney, the official United States Postal Service dog, who rode the trains with the mail in the 19th century, and now, stuffed, is in the National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C.
Pal, the dog who played Lassie in the movie Lassie Come Home, based on the novel by Eric Knight
Pavlov’s dog, who drools saliva involuntarily when hearing the sound of a bell (a signal of “dinner’s ready!”)
Petra, the first Blue Peter dog
Pickles, discovered the Jules Rimet trophy (the Football World Cup) after it had been stolen in England in 1966
Rico, a dog with a huge vocabulary
Rin Tin Tin, German Shepherd Dog credited with saving Warner Brothers
Robot, dog who discovered the cave paintings at Lascaux
Strelka, a dog aboard Sputnik 5
Shep the Border Collie, another Blue Peter dog
Snuppy, an Afghan Hound, the first cloned dog.
Strongheart, first German Shepherd Dog with name-above-the-title billing in film
Stubby, an American Pit Bull Terrier, the most decorated American war dog in US history for service during World War I.
Togo, lead dog who covered the most distance during the 1925 serum run to Nome which relayed diphtheria antitoxin by dog sled across the U.S. territory of Alaska to combat an epidemic
Trixie Koontz, Golden retriever, a retired service dog, purported author of Life Is Good, and companion of Dean Koontz – meet Trixie
Tulip, J. R. Ackerley’s German shepherd, written about in My Dog Tulip
Mr. Winkle, “the cutest dog in the universe” Mr. Winkle
Name unknown ship’s dog, a pointer, who served with Royal Navy and helped find food when crew became POWs of Japanese.

Pets of famous people

Famous pets of Presidents and their wives

Barney, U.S. President George W. Bush’s Scottish Terrier
Buddy, U.S. President Clinton’s chocolate Labrador Retriever
Checkers, U.S. President Nixon’s Cocker Spaniel, made famous in the Checkers speech
Dash, U.S. President Benjamin_Harrison and wife Caroline.
Him and Her, U.S. President Lyndon Johnson’s Beagles, made famous by Johnson lifting them by their ears
Jack, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s terrier
Murray of Fala Hill (or Fala), U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s Scottish Terrier, given by his cousin, Margaret Suckley, and depicted in the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial
Manchu, Alice Roosevelt’s small black Pekingese which she received as a gift from the last empress of China
Millie, U.S. First Lady Barbara Bush’s Springer Spaniel
Pete, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s Bull Terrier, who bit so many people he was exiled from the White House
Sailor Boy, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s Chesapeake Bay Retriever.
Skip, U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt’s mongrel
Spot “Spotty” Fetcher, U.S. President George W. Bush’s English Springer Spaniel, named after Scott Fletcher, a former Texas Rangers baseball player

See also the complete List of U.S. Presidential pets, famous and not so

Famous pets of other famous people

Baltique, dog of François Mitterrand
Blondi, dog of Adolf Hitler
Boatswain, favorite pet of Lord Byron. See the Byron article for the poet’s famous “Epitaph to a dog”.
Bounce, belonging to Alexander Pope
Boy, Prince Rupert of the Rhine’s dog who went into battle with him
Centaur Pendragon, Rudolph Valentino’s Irish Wolfhound
Dash, belonging to Charles Lamb
Diamond, Sir Isaac Newton’s favorite dog
Flush, Elizabeth Barrett’s Cocker spaniel, who didn’t much like Robert Browning at first
Jeannie, James Thurber’s Scottish terrier, who had her seventh puppy at the corner of 11th St. and 5th Ave. in New York City
Kato, Nicole Brown Simpson’s Akita
Nigger, a black Labrador Retriever who gave his name as the codename for the Dam Busters mission in World War II. (His name is usually edited out of modern versions of the film about the mission.)
Muggs, James Thurber’s family’s Airedale, the dog that bit people
Lou dog , Bradley Nowell’s (Sublime (band)’s volcalist & guitarist) dog
Pompe, Charles XII of Sweden’s dog
Rex, James Thurber’s family’s Bull terrier, who dragged home a chest of drawers
Roger, Widdle, and Puke, Gerald Durrell’s dogs, and his companions on many excursions in his books about growing up on Corfu
Seaman, Meriwether Lewis’s Newfoundland during the expedition
Tinkerbell, dog of Paris Hilton.