Famous Dogs throughout History: Tales of Heroism, Loyalty, and Adventure

Dogs have been man’s faithful companions for thousands of years, and throughout history, some of them have risen to fame for their extraordinary acts of heroism, unwavering loyalty, and thrilling adventures. From ancient legends to modern-day heroes, these remarkable dogs have captured our hearts and left an indelible mark on history. In this blog, we will explore the stories of some of the most famous dogs that ever lived and celebrate their remarkable contributions to the world.

Throughout time, dogs have been considered to be man’s best friend, helping them throughout the good, the bad, and everything in-between. If you take a look back through time, you’ll find that dogs have been much more than a companion to man, but heroes. 

Some have been brave and some were owned by celebrities. Some had emotional stories while some were internet sensations. Dogs have most definitely made their mark in history. Like they say… It’s a dog’s life. Here are a few famous dogs and their stories.

Who are the most famous dogs in history?

Believe it or not, dogs can do more than laze about your house. Over the years, some dogs have become famous for heroic deeds, such as serving in the military, or bringing medicine in harsh weather conditions. Dogs have also acted in huge blockbuster movies, where they saved kids from kidnappers or leapt into burning buildings to find people trapped inside. Of course, not all famous dogs are real, but mere figments of someone’s imagination. Nevertheless, they still bring smiles to our faces. Whatever the case may be, some dogs have reached an incredible level of fame that some people could only dream of.

The first dog on my list goes by the name of Pertias. He was owned by Alexander the Great for the entirety of his life, which spanned from 356 B.C. to 366 B.C. Pertias’s breed, Molossian,  is no longer known, but he is a direct relative to the well-known breed, Mastiff. Pertias not only kept Alexander the Great company while conquering most of the world but helped along the way. During an attack by Persia’s Darius III, the warrior was charged by an elephant and faced almost certain death. The elephant was diverted when Peritas leaped into the air and bit its face. Alexander went on to forge the empire that became the base of Western civilization.

Get your tissues ready, because this next story may be sad, but it changed the world forever. Old Drum was a beloved Hound dog who was living in Missouri when he was shot and killed by his owner’s neighbor on October 18th, 1869. His owner, Charles Burden, couldn’t stand to let this person get away with murdering his best friend in cold blood and took Hornsby to court. This trial led to the historic speech given by Burden’s lawyer, George Graham Vest. Not only was this the first time the phrase “man’s best friend” was used, but this trial also created animal abuse laws that are still in place to this day and help to keep more exceptional dogs, just like Old Drum, alive and well.

The next dog hero goes by the name Sgt. Stubby and you read that right, he is ranked in the U.S Army as a Sargent. One of the most decorated dogs in history, this little mixed breed fighter was truly inspiring. He got his start by wandering around Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut during 1914, where soldiers were training prior to deploying for France during World War I.

He won the hearts of all the soldiers, who decided to scoop him up and take him along on their journey. In France, Stubby was said to have saved the entire division by finding and detaining a German spy. His New York Times obituary breathlessly relays the tale, saying the dog “stole out of the trenches and recognized — a German.” “Attempts by the Germans to deceive the dog were futile,” the obituary notes. He went on to help sniff out bombs and gas strikes during the war, helping save the lives of everyone serving along his side in the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th Infantry Division led by Conroy.

The next super-pup on my list is a Scotch Collie that goes by Bobbie, but after his story became a viral sensation in 1924, he was only known as Bobbie, the wonder dog. He was brought along on a car trip by his family, who made the long trek from Silverton, Oregon to the great state of Indiana.

During their long getaway, Bobbie was scared away by a small scrap with some farm dogs, taking off. The family searched for him but ended up having to leave him behind. Heartbroken, they thought they would never see their family dog ever again.

On a February day in 1924, the two-year-old pup appeared on the doorstep of his owners, Mr. and Mrs. Frank Brazier. What amazed them was that they had not seen their dog since he had disappeared six months earlier during a car trip in Indiana. Bobbie—mangy, scrawny, feet worn to the bone—appeared to have walked the entire distance to Silverton by himself.

The local paper, the Silverton Appeal, published the story of Bobbie’s cross-country trek, and it quickly spread to newspapers across the country. The Braziers received hundreds of letters from people simply addressed to “Bobbie, the Wonder Dog” or “Silverton’s Bobbie.” Some people claimed they had seen Bobbie and were able to identify him by his distinguishing features.

Officials from the Oregon Humane Society launched an investigation into the Braziers’ claims and were able to confirm that Bobbie had indeed traveled 2,800 miles in the dead of winter to return home. A much-celebrated dog Bobbie received medals, keys to cities, and a jewel-studded harness and collar. He was the guest of honor at the Portland Home Show, where over 40,000 people came to view him, and he was presented with his own dog-sized bungalow.

Our next amazing dog goes by Buddy, a German Shepherd, who wowed America by being the first-ever seeing-eye dog in the country in 1928. Buddy was brought from Switzerland after being trained as a K-9 police officer. A blind man by the name of Morris Frank heard about the seeing-eye dogs in other countries and reached out to a trainer who had Buddy overseas. When they met, it was an instant love story.

Morris and Buddy went on to travel most of the US together, promoting seeing eye dogs as a medical safety net! The pair often gave speeches and demonstrations for huge crowds, telling them that Buddy brought him freedom, something he had not felt since the age of 6 when he lost his sight. After 10 years of helping Morris and showing the country his skills, Buddy passed, but his spirit lived on. By 1965, every state in the US had passed laws allowing blind people with guide dogs access to public spaces.

Our next hero served in the US Coastguard and Navy during World War II and went on to serve the country for 14 years on the USS Campbell. Known as Sinbad The Mutt, this adorable companion quickly became a mascot for the US Navy. Sinbad was originally intended to be a gift for a sailor’s girlfriend in 1937. She was unable to keep the dog so the sailor snuck him on board the USS Campbell that night. Sinbad stayed quiet during the night but by morning his barking made his presence known. The sailors bonded quickly with the happy-go-lucky pup and Sinbad became a member of the crew. He was officially enlisted, with a paw print signature on his enlistment papers. He had his own service record, Red Cross and service IDs, and even his own bunk! He helped maintain the ship and keep a lookout for any German submarines coming. During battles, he would aid nurses by leading them to those wounded safely.

The next super-dog has traveled through time and space to bring information to the world about the moon and stars! This little Russian wonder goes by the name of Laika and was the first living thing to orbit around the Earth in 1957! She was originally just a stray running about the streets of Moscow, but soon, she would undergo space training. While this is now very controversial, at the time, they considered this sweet mutt a savior, as they didn’t even think a human could survive the take-off in a space mission. Not only did she survive the take-off, but she was also monitored for 2 days. Unfortunately, they had no way to control the temperature of the craft she was in and it became too hot inside of the vessel. While the ethics of this mission do not align with the animal testing ethics of today, Laika is remembered as a hero for the information retrieved not only in space but in our morales as humans.

Our next dog was a decorated war hero, and soon became the face of the K-9 military branch recruiting league for his brave actions during the Vietnam War. A German Shepherd named Nemo was stationed in Tan Son Nhut Air Base in 1966 with American Air Force and was being handled by a soldier named Bob Throneburg. During their time in battle, the pair became close, doing everything together, including fighting.

Their base has been attacked in the early hours of December 4th, 1966. Nemo heard the intruders and alerted his handler that the Vietcong was coming. Soon, Bob spotted two intruders and began firing his weapon, unleashing Nemo at the same time. Unfortunately, Bob was struck, leaving him wounded and on the ground. Nemo, who also took a bullet through his eye, which ended up coming out of his mouth, stayed to fight. He took on two guerrillas to protect his wounded handler. He was able to take them down and quickly retreated to Bob, laying on top of him until backup arrived. They both ended up being airlifted and received multiple surgeries, Nemo even lost his left eye. They would not see each other again until this picture, where Bob Throneburg thank Nemo for saving his life.

TraKer, became a renowned hero for his incredible actions at Ground Zero after the World Trade Center was attacked in 2001. This police-trained German Shepherd was living in Canada when his handler, James Symington, watched the tragedy of 9/11 play out in front of him on his own television set. Both Symington and TraKer were retired police officers, who served together.

James couldn’t bear to see what was happening and decided they both needed to come out of retirement to help save the people suffering under the rubble. They got into a car with a friend and started the long 15-hour journey from Nova Scotia to Manhattan, NYC. They arrived on the 12th of September and immediately got to work. TraKer took no time to alert his handler to a pile of burning rubble. That exact spot was where firefighters found Genelle Guzman, the last of the 20 survivors who had been inside the buildings when they collapsed, under 30 feet of unstable debris, who had been trapped for 26 hours. In 2005, Dr. Jane Goodall honored Symington and Trakr with an “Extraordinary Service to Humanity Award” for their efforts.

Last but not least, is another war hero and German Shepherd, who goes by the name of Rex.

Rex and Megan became partners in the US Marine Corps during their first deployment to Iraq in 2005. After their first successful tour, the two decided to keep this good thing going and were deployed to Iraq again in 2006. Both working on the bomb squad, they would travel miles together in search of an area riddled with explosives.

It was a fateful day in September of 2006 that the pair were leading a US Army patrol down the street and were wounded by a bomb. Rex was not as bad off as Megan, who was discharged due to her condition. Megan was awarded a purple heart for her efforts, but all she really wanted was her best friend back at her side. Rex went on to serve the Marine Corps for 6 more years until he developed facial palsy and retired. Megan was able to adopt him after that and they were finally reunited.

As you can see, dogs have always been there by human’s side, ensuring that our lives are the best they can be. Without dogs, how could man make it through some of our greatest wars and tragedies, let alone all the things day-to-day humans deal with.

Dogs are truly a wonder and an animal to cherish. If you know a dog who is active in the military, helping someone with a handicap, or ensuring the safety of humankind all around the world, be sure to give me a scratch on the chin and a loving kiss, as we couldn’t do it without them and these famous dogs in history.

Here are 25 Most Famous Dogs in History.

1.Jofi the Chow Chow

A beloved pet of famous therapist Sigmund Freud, he used Jofi as a way to calm his patients who were anxious during the sessions. Jofi had a tranquil effect.

2.Laika The Space Dog

Laika was the very first dog to travel into orbit on Sputnik 2. Sadly, the Russians had no plan to bring the ship back to Earth and Laika died in space. Alone.

3.Rin Tin Tin

Rin Tin Tin was a famous movie dog actor. He was discovered by Corporal Duncan in a kennel that was bombed during WWI. Corporal Duncan took Rin Tin Tin, and his family, home. Unfortunately, Rin was the only dog that survived and began starring in movies in the early 1920’s.

4.Chips the War Dog

Chips was a german shepherd mix whose owner donated him to the military during WWII. This heroic dog leapt over into enemy territory during a battle with the Italian army and attacked he shooters. He helped capture 10 enemy soldiers as a result.

5.Cujo

So, in our defense, we said the dogs on this list were famous, not dogs you would want as pets. Cujo was a fictional St. Bernard created by horror author Stephen King. A vicious and rabid dog who terrorized a mother and her young son, trapped in a car.

6.Astro the Space Dog

Any Jetsons fans here? How could we create a list of famous dogs and not put the beloved space canine? Astro the space dog was the lovable dog of The Jetson Family. The popular cartoon ran for 21 years.

7.Trakr the 911 Dog

Ask anyone and they can probably tell you where they were during 9/11. Trakr, along with his owner James Symington, a police officer from Canada, helped find missing people during the attacks. Sadly, Trakr died from smoke inhalation during his service. Before 9/11, Trakr worked as a typical police dog, finding contraband and chasing bad guys.

8.Millie Bush

Mille the springer spaniel was the pet of late president George. H.W.Bush and his wife Barbara. She was also the mother of George W. Bush’s pet dog Spot. Here is another interesting fact: Millie wrote a kids book, called “Millie’s Book: As Edited by Barbara Bush, which was on The New York Times Best Seller in 1992.

9.Balto

A Siberian husky from Alaska who worked with a dog team that brought supplies to miners, Balto was actually considered to be the weakest among the other dogs, but as they say, don’t judge a book by its cover. In 1925, an huge epidemic spread through the town, making everybody very sick. Balto, with his team of sled dogs, braved the harsh weather conditions to get medicine to the sick.

10.Smoky the Yorkshire

When you think of war dogs, a Yorkshire terrier may not be the first dog that comes to mind. She was first found in a foxhole during WWII and then trained by Cpl. Billy Wynne to help out during the war. She is considered the first therapy dog.

11.Scooby-Doo

Hey, Scooby Doo, where are you? If you were a child of the ’80s then you definitely remember Scooby-Doo, Shaggy, Thelma, Daphne, and Fred as they solved haunting mysteries. Scooby was definitely not brave like the other dogs on the list, but he was always willing to help out if a Scooby snack was involved.

12.Bo Obama

Bo was one of President Obama’s pet dogs. Barack and Michelle’s daughter Malia had severe allergies to dogs so they had to get a hypoallergenic one. Bo, the dog was a welcome addition to the Obama family.

13.Old Yeller

A book and a movie about a boy and his dog nicknamed Old Yeller. One word of advice: neither the book nor the movie are appropriate for a dog lover. You’ve been warned.

14.Bobbie the Wonder Dog

A dogs loyalty knows no bounds. Imagine if you lost your dog over 2,000 miles from your home, and then 6 months later he showed up at your doorstep. Well, that’s exactly what Bobbie the Wonder Dog did. He became a national icon for a few years. When he passed away, it’s said that fellow wonder dog Rin Tin Tin came and paid respects.

15.Toto

Even though the character of Toto in the Wizard of Oz was a male dog. He was actually played by a female dog named Terry. Her owner Carl Spitz was a famous dog handler and trainer in Hollywood.

16.Nemo the Vietnam War Dog

Nemo is considered the most famous war dog. He was part of a unit during the Vietnam War whose sole purpose was to find and capture enemy intruders. Even when he got shot in the face, he still went on the attack and helped his unit capture four enemy combatants.

17.Checkers Nixon

Checkers was former president Richard Nixon’s dog. He was the most famous dog in the White House. Although he never lived there, he was the inspiration behind one of Nixon’s speeches to defend himself against the misuse of campaign contributions. Nixon said the only thing he was keeping was Checkers as it was a gift for his daughters. It became known as The Checkers Speech.

18.Argos

In Greek Mythology, Argos was the faithful dog of Odysseus. When Odysseus went on a long voyage, his faithful dog waited 20 years for him to come home, and even recognized him dressed as a beggar.

19.Higgins aka Benji

Higgins was a stray dog adopted from a shelter in Beverly Hills. He went on to star in the movie “Benji.” The Human Society said that because Benji came from a shelter, that inspired other people to adopt from shelters, and over one million dogs were adopted nationally. Higgins is also the second dog to be inducted into the Animal Actor Hall of Fame.

20.Lassie

Most people remember the TV show “Lassie.” Every week you could tune in to hear Timmy call out her name, “Laaasiie!” The real dog was actually not a girl but a male dog called Pal. Pal’s trainer adopted the pet from the trainer’s family. Although not easy to work with, Lassie eventually became well-trained. He was a huge television star and the first dog to be inducted into the Animal Hall of Fame.

21.Snoopy

How could one forget Charlie Brown’s lovable and mischievous beagle Snoopy? Also, known as The Red Barron, Snoopy is one of the most well-known cartoon dogs in history.

22.Lex

The first military dog given early retirement. Lex was adopted by his master’s family after the soldier was killed in battle. When Lex’s owner Cpl. Dustin Lee was killed, despite the dog being injured, he refused to leave his side. Lex was adopted by Cpl. Lee’s mother and father, but died of cancer in 2012.

23.Clifford the Big Red Dog

Clifford was a kids book about a giant red dog with an even bigger heart. The books inspired TV shows and even a few movies. No, there is no real Clifford. In the book, he is 25 feet tall. Can you imagine that being real? The doggy drool alone…

24.Buddy Clinton

Buddy was former president Bill Clinton’s dog. Clinton didn’t own a dog during his first term as president, but he got Buddy during the second term; they were good friends. He’s mostly famous for his ongoing battle with the Clinton’s cat, Socks.

25.Hachiko

This is probably one of the saddest and most endearing stories of loyalty ever. Hachiko was an Akita dog owned by Eizaburo Ueno, a professor in Japan. Every day the dog would wait for his master at the train station to come home. One day his master never showed up as a result of a brain hemorrhage and later, death. Hachiko still went to the station. Every day he waited and waited. He became so famous for the consistent loyalty that a statue was built at the station in his honor. Sadly, the waiting came to an end when Hachiko passed away at the train station in 1935.

Compiled  & Shared by- This paper is a compilation of groupwork provided by the

Team, LITD (Livestock Institute of Training & Development)

 Image-Courtesy-Google

 Reference-On Request.

ROLE OF SILENT WARRIORS THE INDIAN ARMY DOGS ( k9 squad) IN NATIONAL SECURITY & WARFARE