This week, we celebrate International Dog Day. (Some of us here in the division think every day should be celebrated as such!) Our colleagues at the American Folklife Center have been sharing a series of posts about amazing pups in their collections, and we wanted to “fetch” a few of our own, so to speak.
A Loyal Companion
A Bert Williams Ranch employee, Dewey Weise, fractured his leg when he was thrown off a horse. A fast-thinking and fast-on-its-feet collie dog came to his rescue, delivering a handwritten note to the ranch staff.
A Silly Story
Here’s a funny story of an uninvited dog as a guest.
Training
Who says you can’t teach an old dog new tricks? If you would instead outsource training your dog, consider hiring Melvin the Mallard, who turns “eager pups into gentle, well-trained retrievers.”
Dog Brings in the Paper and Reads It
Owners have long trained their dogs to retrieve the morning newspaper, but here’s an example of a dog reading it.
In the Doghouse
Dogs, of course, deserve the best lodgings, and here’s a story about owners building a “pooches’ palace” — a remodeled children’s playhouse complete with bunk beds, window boxes with flowers, curtains, and knick-knacks.
Famous Pups
Here’s a bull terrier bound for Hollywood. Wildfire was awarded the sixth annual Patsy — the “Oscar” for animal performers — for his starring role in the 1955 film “It’s A Dog’s Life.”
A Young Dog Lover
Fifteen-year-old dog-lover George Gullickson is such a fan of the animal that he set up his own “dog room” in the basement of his DC house.
More Treats
“Will you please save me some of those dog stories?” If you’re looking for canine stories for young readers, look no fur-ther (I couldn’t help myself!) than the Library Notes by Alice Bryan, County Librarian for more dog story recommendations.
These are only a few examples of marvelous mutts in the Chronicling America historic newspapers online collection, a product of the National Digital Newspaper Program jointly sponsored by the Library and the National Endowment for the Humanities. If you find any of your own or have real-life examples of heartwarming stories about dogs, please don’t hesitate to share them in the comments!
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