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List of individual dogs

The following is a list of individual dogs.

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Faithful dogs

Faithful after owner's death

  • Canelo in Cádiz, Spain, used to walk with his owner to the hospital where he was receiving dialysis treatment. In 1990 his owner died at the hospital. Canelo died outside the hospital after waiting for 12 years. The town of Cádiz put his name to a street and a plaque in his honor.
  • Capitán, a German Shepherd, ran away from his home in central Argentina, after the death of his owner Miguel Guzmán in 2006. About a week later, Guzmán's family found Capitán standing guard at Guzmán's grave after finding the cemetery on his own. When brought home, Capitán again ran away back to the grave of his former owner. He stood vigil over his owner's grave and received provisions from the cemetery staff so he did not need to leave. Capitán died in 2018.
  • Dżok ("Jock") would wait for an entire year at the Rondo Grunwaldzkie roundabout in Kraków, Poland, to be fetched back by his owner, who had died there.
  • Fido, a mixed-breed dog, whose owner, Carlo Soriani, had died in an air raid over Borgo San Lorenzo (near Florence, in Italy) in 1943, during World War II. Fido waited in vain, for the following 14 years, for Soriani's return, going daily to the bus stop in Luco del Mugello (a of Borgo) where the man used to get off after coming home from work.
  • Greyfriars Bobby, a Skye Terrier in Edinburgh, Scotland, was loyal to his owner long after his owner's death in 1858. Until Bobby's death 14 years later, he reportedly spent every night at his owner's grave. A statue in memorial of Greyfriars Bobby was erected near the graveyard. Several films have been made dramatising the life of Greyfriars Bobby, and in folklore he is popularly remembered throughout Scotland as a symbol of loyalty.
  • Hachikō, an Akita who became a symbol of loyalty in Japan, is now honored by a statue in Tokyo. Hachikō is famous for his loyalty to his long-dead owner Hidesaburō Ueno, by returning to the train station and waiting for his return, every day for the next nine years during the time the train was scheduled to arrive.
  • Kostya, in the mid-1990s in Tolyatti, Russia – a man and a girl died in a car crash during the summer of 1995, leaving their dog as the only survivor. The German Shepherd, named Constantine aka Kostya or Faithful Kostya by the locals, kept coming to the same spot for the next seven years braving freezing winters and hot summers. Loyalty – a bronze statue honouring the dog's loyalty was placed on that spot in 2003 by the city authorities.
  • Ruswarp, a Border Collie who disappeared while hiking with his owner Graham Nuttall in the Welsh Mountains near Llandrindod Wells on 20 January 1990. On 7 April, a hiker discovered Nuttall's body near a mountain stream, where Ruswarp had been standing guard for 11 weeks. The 14-year-old dog was so weak he had to be carried off the mountain, and died shortly after Nuttall's funeral. There is a statue of Ruswarp on a platform of Garsdale railway station.
  • Pikeman's dog, a terrier that stayed with his owner who fought as a pikeman at the Battle of the Eureka Stockade and accompanied the corpse to the cemetery.
  • Seaman, the Newfoundland belonging to explorer Meriweather Lewis, would not eat or leave his owner's grave, and died of grief.
  • Shep, belonging to a sheepherder who died in Fort Benton, Montana, in August 1936 followed his owner's casket to the train station and fashioned a den under the depot platform after the body was shipped back east. For the next five and a half years, Shep met every passenger train arriving there—four a day—sniffing at the passengers and baggage car doors. His vigil became widely publicized including a feature in "Ripley's Believe It or Not". Passengers took the Havre to Great Falls rail line just to see the dog, and he received so much fan mail that the Great Northern Railroad assigned a secretary to help with responses. On 12 Jan. 1942, Shep was struck and killed by an arriving train. AP and UPI issued his obituary nationwide; thousands sent condolences and hundreds attended his funeral. The Great Northern erected an obelisk at his gravesite on a bluff overlooking the depot and town. In 1994, the citizens of Fort Benton further memorialized the dog with a heroic bronze erected on the town's steamboat levee.
  • Waghya, meaning "tiger" in Marathi, was the pet dog of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji. After Shivaji's death, the dog mourned and is said to have jumped into his owner's funeral pyre and immolated himself. A statue was put up on a pedestal next to Shivaji's tomb at Raigad Fort.
  • K9 Big Wolf () - Police Dog of the (now-defunct) People's Armed Police Dehong detachment. On 22 August 2011, his handler Private Yao Yuanjun (姚元军) drowned while fighting with drug traffickers, and several months later "Big Wolf" was filmed on national TV, still waiting for his handler to return at their training location near the Shweli River, gaining fame on Chinese social media; "Big Wolf" continues to wait at the same training site for over a decade.

Homing dogs

  • Baekgu, the Korean Jindo Dog, after being sold by the original owner due to economic hardship to a new owner 300 km away, came back to the original owner after seven months.
  • Bobbie the Wonder Dog, after accidental abandonment on a cross-country trip, Bobbie made his way back over to his family's home.

Other faithful dogs

  • Bob the Railway Dog, a loyal traveller and drivers' companion on the South Australian Railways in the late 19th century.
  • Fidèle, a famous dog that could usually be seen sleeping out of his window in Bruges.
  • Kelsey, a dog, was hailed a hero after he rescued his owner who became paralyzed when he slipped and fell in the snow. Kelsey stayed by his side licking his face to keep him warm for nearly 20 hours.
  • Mari: A Tale of Mari and Three Puppies is based on a true story in the 2004 ChÅ«etsu earthquake. Mari gave birth to three puppies. That spring, animals behaved strangely, foreshadowing something major to come. On 23 October 2004, a major earthquake, which later became known as the ChÅ«etsu earthquake, struck and devastated the whole village. At that time, only grandfather and Aya were at home, and they were pinned down by a wardrobe that collapsed onto them. Mari quickly moved her puppies to a safe place and successfully rescued her grandfather and Aya from that disaster.
  • Nig, a mixed-breed dog taken in as a puppy in 1932 by the construction workers of the Hoover Dam. Considered their mascot, he accompanied workers daily to and from the site, even carrying a sack lunch. In 1941, he died and was buried at the dam, where he remains commemorated with a plaque.
  • Patsy Ann, known as the "Official Greeter of Juneau". She was a bull terrier that greeted ships as they docked in Juneau.
  • Old Drum, a hunting dog whose death at the hands of a neighbor was the subject of a lawsuit and George Graham Vest's famous summation to the jury, known as "Eulogy of the Dog", which asserts that a man's unique relationship with his dog should influence how the law is interpreted and implemented in such cases. The case has been influential in courts ever since.
  • Pompey, a Pug that foiled an assassination attempt on the life of William The Silent.
  • Red Dog, a Kelpie who wandered around the outback of Western Australia looking for its owner.
  • Taro and Jiro, two Sakhalin huskies that survived a year of abandonment on the frozen continent of Antarctica until members of a Japanese Expedition team rescued them.
  • Zander, a 70-pound (32 kg), approximately 7-year-old Samoyed-husky mix who escaped his home and traveled more than two "hard miles" (fording a stream, crossing a busy highway, and navigating complex neighborhoods) to arrive at a hospital in an area where he had never been, where he was stopped by a hospital employee who called the cell phone number on his dog tag and reached Zander's owner in a room inside the hospital where he had been lying for several days recuperating from an illness.

Working dogs

War dogs

  • Bart, a German Shepherd working with SEAL Team Six who was killed along with 38 people which consisted of U.S. special operation troops, aviators and Afghan commandos in 2011.
  • Becerrillo, a Castilian attack dog during the time of the Spanish conquistadors.
  • Bing, a German Shepherd and Collie cross who parachuted with the 6th Airborne Division on D-Day and winner of the Dickin Medal.
  • Caesar (the Anzac Dog), was taught to locate wounded soldiers on the battlefields of the Western Front and guide them back to safety.
  • Cairo, a Belgian Malinois used by U.S. Navy SEALs in Operation Neptune Spear, in which Osama bin Laden was killed.
  • Chesty, one of a family of bulldogs, serving as the official mascot of Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C. These dogs are actually enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps, most attaining the rank of corporal.
  • Chips, the most decorated hero war dog of World War II.
  • Chopper, a Navy SEAL dog who served in Iraq in Afghanistan from 2007-2011. Chopper was honored at the White House and, along with his handler Trevor Maroshek, was the subject of a 2015 Smithsonian Channel documentary SEAL Dog.
  • Conan, a Delta Force dog who participated in the Barisha raid in 2019.
  • Crumstone Irma, a German Shepherd who assisted in the rescue of 191 people trapped under blitzed buildings, was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1945.
  • Gander, a Newfoundland, was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal for his feats during the Battle of Hong Kong in World War II.
  • Gunner, Canine air-raid early warning system during the bombing of Darwin in World War II.
  • Horrie the Wog Dog, found in Egypt by Australian Forces in 1942 during World War II, saved the lives of many Australian soldiers. Horrie was refused admission back to Australia after service in Europe; he was saved by his mates smuggling him to his new home in Australia.
  • Jet of Iada a German Shepherd, who assisted in the rescue of 150 people trapped under blitzed buildings. He was awarded both the Dickin Medal and the RSPCA's Medallion of Valor for his rescue efforts.
  • Judy, a ship's dog who served with the Royal Navy, was the only animal to have been officially registered as a Japanese prisoner of war. She survived the death camps on the Burma Railway and was awarded the Dickin Medal in 1946.
  • Just Nuisance, a Great Dane, the only dog to have been officially enlisted in the Royal Navy, was buried with full military honours upon his death in 1944.
  • Kurt, a Doberman Pinscher "Devil Dog" credited with saving the lives of at least 250 U.S. Marines during the 1944 Battle of Guam by alerting them to Japanese soldiers. Kurt was mortally wounded on patrol, on 23 July, becoming the first Marine K-9 combat casualty. He was the first to be buried in what would become the National War Dog Cemetery in Guam, where his likeness in bronze sits atop the World War II War Dog Memorial that includes names inscribed for the Dobermans who died while serving with the U.S. Marine Corps on Guam.
  • Lava, a mixed breed dog, was adopted as a puppy by the 1st Battalion 3rd Marines Unit nicknamed the Lava Dogs. He was rescued from Iraq in 2005 by Lieutenant Colonel Jay Kopelman. Lava is the subject of the book From Baghdad, With Love by Kopelman and Melinda Roth.
  • Lex, the first actively working military working dog to be adopted by family members of their handler, prior to being retired.
  • Lucca, a dog working for the U.S. Marine Corps who was awarded the Dickin Medal.
  • Moustache, a barbet said to have participated in several battles of the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic Wars.
  • Nemo A534, a German Shepherd who saved the life of his handler in battle despite having been shot in the nose and losing an eye.
  • Nigger, a black Labrador Retriever belonging to Guy Gibson, 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 due to the offensiveness of the term to modern viewers.
  • Patron, an explosives detection dog that received the Order for Courage third class during the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine.
  • Philly, a mutt and World War I "hero"; mascot of Company A of the 315 Infantry, 79th Division ("Philadelphia's Own").
  • Rags, a Signal Corps mascot during World War I.
  • Rex (E168), a U.S. Marine military working dog handled and later owned by Corporal Megan Leavey whose story was chronicled in the 2017 film Megan Leavey.
  • Rifleman Khan, a German Shepherd who won the Dickin Medal for bravery.
  • Rip, a World War II search and rescue dog.
  • Rob, a Collie working dog on a farm in Shropshire until 1942, when his owners enlisted him as a war dog. Assigned to the Special Air Service at the base in Wivenhoe Park, Essex. Subsequently awarded the Dickin Medal in February 1945.
  • Sallie Ann Jarrett, Civil War mascot of the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry regiment, whose bronze statue is part of the regimental monument at Gettysburg.

Rescue dogs

Guide, service, and facility dogs

  • Buddy, a female German Shepherd, the first formally trained guide dog in the United States. She belonged to Morris Frank, who worked to establish The Seeing Eye, the first dog guide school in America.
  • Endal, a yellow Labrador Retriever service dog voted "Dog of the Millennium", famous for his extraordinary ability to help his human partner, a disabled veteran, with many aspects of his life, for over a decade, and his role in the promotion of service dog programs.
  • Orca, a Golden Retriever assistance dog awarded a PDSA Gold Medal for saving his owner's life.
  • Professor Beauregard Tirebiter, University of Southern California's Official Wellness Dog. Beau is USC's first full-time canine faculty member and comes from a "hypoallergenic" mix between a Golden Retriever and a Poodle, also widely known as a "Goldendoodle". Beau is professionally trained as a facility dog and creates well-being throughout his facility, USC.
  • Roselle, a Labrador Retriever guide dog who led her blind owner Michael Hingson to safety from the 78th floor of the North Tower of the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attack.
  • Salty, a Labrador Retriever guide dog who led his blind owner Omar Rivera from the 71st floor of Tower 1 of the World Trade Center on 9/11.
  • Sully, former President George H. W. Bush's yellow Labrador Retriever service dog during his last six months of life. Noted for his role during the President's state funeral. Subsequently, serving at the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.
  • Trixie Koontz, the Golden Retriever companion of Dean Koontz, was a retired guide dog and the purported author of Life Is Good. Trixie died 30 June 2007 at home, euthanized on her favorite couch with Koontz and his wife holding her in their arms. She had a tumor in her heart.
  • Wanda the Yellow Retriever/Lab cross, guide dog to Mhairi Thurston. Wanda was The Guide Dogs for the Blind Association's first 'Overall Guidedog of the Year' in 2004. Wanda retired from service in 2011 and lived a happy retirement with owner Mhairi in Dundee, Scotland until her death in 2017.

Dogs that aided exploration

Police dogs

Other working dogs

Other heroic dogs

Not all dogs that are famous for saving lives are working dogs. Famous lifesaving dogs with no special training or job include the following:

Saved abandoned babies

  • Jade, a German Shepherd from Birmingham, England, who saved an abandoned baby. He was walking in a park with his owner when he ran off and laid down, not moving until his master approached, next to an abandoned baby in a bag in the woods. Jade's owner called an ambulance, which took the baby to the hospital, and the baby was saved.
  • La China, a free-ranging dog who heard the cries of a newborn infant that had been exposed by her mother in a field near a shanty town outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. La China found the baby and, without leaving any bite marks on her, brought her back to the relative shelter and warmth of a corner where she was keeping and nursing her litter of puppies. In so doing, La China had brought the baby close enough to people to be heard and saved.
  • Mkombozi, a stray dog from the outskirts of Nairobi, Kenya, saved the life of an abandoned baby. On 9 May 2005, Mkombozi while scavenging for food along a road, found an abandoned baby in a package. She dragged it across a road, pulled it through a fence, into a village, to a shed where she was nursing newborn puppies. In doing so, she had brought the baby close enough for its cries to be heard by a woman and her children, who saved the baby. The baby was given the name "Angel" and adopted. The dog was named "Mkombozi", which is Swahili for "savior", and taken in by the local SPCA.

Others

  • Flash, a German Shepherd, was a two-year-old loyal companion donated to the war on 10 September 1942, by Eleanor (Hildenbrand) and Paul F. Demerski. He was honored for his services and awards by the Syracuse Herald Journal newspaper. Dogs for Defense out of Washington D.C. awarded Flash for his bravery and loyalty in the field during World War II. He began his service at the train station in Solvay, New York, and continued on to Hicksville, Long Island, then deployed with his handlers. Mr. and Mrs. Demerski received a letter to inform them of Flash's completion of sentry duty training for the army located at the War Dog Reception and Training Center, Quartermaster Depot, Front Royal, Virginia.
  • Orion, a dog, was officially recognized for his role in rescuing people during the Vargas tragedy. A mudslide forced Orion and his owner Mauricio Pérez to leave their home and go to a safer place. They came across a young girl trapped by turbulent water. Orion guided the girl to shore by swimming at her side, then jumped back in to pull a second girl out of the water. He then helped eight children climb to high places. He spent Wednesday night and part of Thursday morning saving 37 people from drowning. He was awarded a medal of valour and a certificate for the role he played.
  • Buddy, a German Shepherd, was hailed as a hero in 2010 for guiding Alaska State Troopers through winding back roads to a fire at his owners' workshop when their GPS had stopped working.
  • Duke, a mixed-breed rescue dog in Portland, Connecticut who had been with his family for six years, saved the life of 9-week-old Harper Brousseau. On the night of 7 October 2012, Duke jumped into the Brousseau's bed and began shaking uncontrollably. This caused the Brousseaus to wake up and get out of bed. Upon checking on their daughter, they found she had stopped breathing. They then called 911 and the paramedics were able to revive Harper.
  • George, a Jack Russell Terrier who shielded a group of children in Manaia, New Zealand, from a pair of attacking pit bulls. He was killed by the pit bulls.
  • Gnarley, an American Staffordshire Terrier mix from Sunbright, Tennessee, saved his owner's life when his coworker and roommate attacked him with a machete while working out of state on 26 July 2019. Gnarley made a full recovery from his injuries. An emergency surgery for a fractured skull and long laceration was needed.
  • Kabang, a shepherd mix Aspin from Zamboanga City, Philippines who became famous when she saved two children from a potentially fatal motorcycle crash. As a result of the accident, Kabang lost her upper snout.
  • Lucy, a pit bull who shielded her owner's mother-in-law from an ex-boyfriend with a knife. The man stabbed Lucy multiple times, and she died on 19 December 2015, after going into cardiac arrest from blood loss.
  • Polo, a 6-year-old mixed breed in Baltimore, Maryland, who saved the life of 8-month-old Vivian Poremski. On 15 August 2016, a candle sparked a fast-moving fire in the Poremski home while the mother had stepped out to retrieve an item from her car. Polo protected Vivian from the flames by laying on top of her, dying in the process.
  • Saihu (赛虎 = "like a tiger"), from Jiujiang, Jiangxi Province, southern China. On 28 November 2003, a chef was preparing dinner for almost 30 people at a driving school. The smell of the cooking meat attracted some nearby puppies to the school, along with their mother, Saihu. The chef threw some scraps of meat from the pot to the puppies, but strangely, the puppies' mother prevented them from eating. Saihu also kept barking at the chef, as well as the people who were preparing to eat. Confused but undeterred, the people prepared to eat the meal the chef had made. Saihu became panicked and ran around barking at the guests, before finally eating all the scraps the chef had thrown to the dogs. After just a few minutes, Saihu fell dead on the floor. The guests, shocked at the dog's death, stopped eating the meal. They called a policeman as well as some doctors, who discovered poison in the meat. No people or puppies died. Everyone was convinced that Saihu must have smelled the poison and had saved the people and her puppies by sacrificing herself. The people of Jiujaing were so grateful to Saihu that they set up a tomb in a human graveyard and a statue to memorialize the dog.
  • Susie, part Pit Bull, rescued after being set on fire in Greensboro, North Carolina; her plight led to passage of Susie's Law.
  • Velvet, a black Labrador Retriever and shepherd mixed breed cattle dog, who helped save three climbers when they became stranded on Mount Hood in Oregon on 18 February 2007.
  • Wangwang (汪汪 Wāngwāng, meaning "wuff wuff"), a dog member of a Chang (å¼µ) family in Taipei who woke the family in a night fire. The family woke their neighbors and saved about 30 lives.
  • Willie, Labrador retriever, who saved six-year-old John Stenglein from a wolf attack at a logging camp nearby on 26 April 2000 in Icy Bay, Alaska. John and an older boy were playing near the edge of a logging camp when a wolf appeared and chased the boys, attacking John when he fell and dragging him towards the woods. Many came running, but only Willie arrived in time to confront the wolf, causing it to drop John before it could make off with him.
  • Leo, a Dachshund, on 9 March 2014, in the city of Pančevo, Serbia, saved the life of an 11-year-old girl from the jaws of a Bullmastiff. He weighed 12 kg, and the Bullmastiff weighed 50 kg. After the fight, Leo had a broken pelvis, distended intestines, and was completely crushed. He succumbed to his injuries after two days. The city of Pančevo erected a monument in the park where the owners constantly sat. The monument reads: For all the little heroes with big hearts.
  • Bruno, a seven years old molecular bloodhound belonging to the Endas canine unit, an Italian sports promotion association. Bruno had saved nine lives and had even received a commendation from Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni. He was found dead in Taranto on 4 July 2025, killed by unknown assailants using sausages laced with nails.

Real dogs in literature

Mascots

Models

  • Archie, owned by Andy Warhol and Jed Johnson, modeled for Warhol.
  • Boo, a Pomeranian and social media icon with the tagline of "World's Cutest Dog".
  • Man Ray and Fay Ray, Weimaraners, subjects of their owner, photographer William Wegman.
  • Mickey, an Irish Wolfhound, and Cracker, a bull terrier, acquired in 1925 by Cecil Aldin and the models for his popular book, Sleeping Partners, which humorously illustrated the dogs’ habit of sleeping on, under, around, or tangled up with each other.
  • Mr. Winkle, a very small dog of uncertain breed, belongs to Lara Jo Regan, who has published many photos of Mr. Winkle in various costumes and poses.

Dogs in science

Space dogs

The Soviets favored dogs for early space flights, as opposed to the Americans, who preferred monkeys and chimpanzees.

  • In 1951 Dezik and Tsygan became the first dogs to enter suborbital spaceflight.
  • In 1957 Laika, a female mixed-breed dog, became the first animal to enter orbit when she was launched into space aboard Sputnik 2. Laika's presence led to the mission being dubbed "Muttnik". She was also the first to die in orbit, as no provision was made to return her to the ground.
  • In 1960 Belka and Strelka, two Russian mixed breeds, went into space aboard Sputnik 5 and returned. They were, along with their mice, rats, and rabbit traveling companions, the first animals to survive an orbital flight. Strelka later gave birth to a litter of puppies, one of which, Pushinka, was given to U.S. president John F. Kennedy's daughter Caroline by Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev.

Dogs of unusual size

Small dogs

  • Boo Boo, a female Chihuahua, was listed in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the smallest living dog in terms of height.
  • Heaven Sent Brandy, a female Chihuahua, is listed in the 2007 Guinness World Records as the smallest living dog in terms of length. She set the record on 31 January 2005, at long, from her nose to the tip of her tail.
  • Sylvia, a matchbox-size Yorkshire Terrier owned by Arthur Marples of Blackburn, England, was the smallest dog in recorded history. The dog died in 1945 when she was almost two years old, at which point she stood tall at the shoulder, measured from nose tip to tail, and weighed .

Heavy dogs

  • Benedictine, a male Saint Bernard, who weighed is recognized as the heaviest dog to have ever lived.
  • Zorba, a male English Mastiff, was recognized by Guinness World Records as the heaviest dog in the world at . The record was set in November 1989, when Zorba was 8 years old. Zorba also held a record for the world's longest dog at .

Tall dogs

  • Giant George, a blue Great Dane that took over Gibson's record as the tallest living dog, measuring 109 cm (43 in) from paw to shoulder; 220 cm (7.2 ft) from head to tail.
  • Gibson, a Harlequin Great Dane who was the world's tallest dog until his death in August 2009. Gibson was certified by Guinness World Records as the tallest living dog at . Standing on his hind legs, the dog was over tall.
  • Titan, a Great Dane who was previously recognised as the world's tallest dog.
  • Zeus, a Great Dane who claimed the tallest dog record on 13 September 2012.

Intelligent dogs

Long-lived dogs

  • Bluey, an Australian Cattle Dog who was verified as the world's oldest dog by Guinness World Records. She died in 1939 at 29 years and 5 months of age.
  • Bobi, a Rafeiro do Alentejo who was claimed to be the oldest dog ever. He died in 2023 at a claimed age of 31 years, 165 days.
  • Bramble, a Welsh Collie who lived a vegan diet to 25 years old and at the time of her death was the world's oldest dog.
  • Chanel, a Dachshund, who was the world's oldest dog in 2009 at 21 years old,
  • Max, a Beagle, Dachshund and terrier mix, unverified to have lived to the age of 29 years and 282 days.
  • Spike, a Chihuahua mix, who is the oldest living dog as of 17 March 2025, reaching the age of 25.
  • Uncle Chichi, who was between 24 and 26. Adopted from a shelter in South Carolina, he was unofficially the oldest dog in the world at the time of his death. His true age could not be determined due to lost birth records.

Show dogs

Notorious dogs

Ugly dogs

  • Elwood, a Chinese Crested–Chihuahua, mixed breed, was a winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest in 2007.
  • Miss Ellie, a blind Chinese Crested dog that won the pedigree section of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest in 2009.
  • Peggy, a dog that won the title of "Britain's ugliest dog".
  • Sam, a blind Chinese Crested hairless, was the three-time winner of the World's Ugliest Dog Contest.

Unique dogs

Foundation sires and early dogs

Other notable dogs

  • Aloka, rescue dog of Indian origin and companion of Buddhist monks in the United States.
  • Auditor, a feral dog who lived in the mining area of Butte, Montana.
  • Balltze, a Shiba Inu from Hong Kong and face of the "Cheems" meme.
  • Baltic, whose rescue on the Baltic Sea received worldwide attention, became the mascot and "crew-member" of Baltica, the Polish research vessel that rescued him.
  • Bella, a Shih Tzu owned by 17 year old Mia Leimberg, that accompanied her while she was held captive by Hamas and later freed in exchange of Palestinian prisoners.
  • Bum, a three-footed St. Bernard and Spaniel mix stray who became the 19th-century town dog of San Diego.
  • Bummer and Lazarus, a pair of famous stray dogs who lived in San Francisco during the 1860s, often associated with Emperor Norton.
  • Dog on the Tuckerbox.
  • Dozer, a male Goldendoodle, who raised $25,000 for the University of Maryland Greenebaum Cancer Center by joining the Maryland Half Marathon and crossing the finish line on Sunday, 15 May 2011.
  • Eclipse, a female Mastador (half Mastiff, half Labrador) who independently rode a bus from a bus stop near her home to a dog park in downtown Seattle and back. She has become a favorite among commuters.
  • Joy, a Spaniel, belonging to the Alexei Nikolaevich, with whom he often appears in photographs and from whom he was inseparable. Alexei was executed at the age of 13 with the rest of his family at Ekaterinburg in 1918. Joy was the only survivor of the massacre and was discovered wandering in the grounds of the house shortly after by White Russians who briefly occupied the town too late to rescue the Romanovs. Joy was taken by one of them into exile in Britain where he died at Windsor several years later, still pining for his young master.
  • Jonas, a mongrel dog who saved his owner's life from a possible drowning in December 2017.
  • Kabosu, a female Shiba Inu most known as the face of Doge.
  • Kalu, a dog rescued and rehabilitated by the nonprofit animal rescue organization Animal Aid Unlimited after he was found at a construction site in Udaipur, India with almost his entire face destroyed by maggots. The organization makes videos of their rescues, and this went viral due to the horrible injury and his miraculous recovery. After his recovery, he lived the rest of his life happily and healthily at Animal Aid Unlimited. He died of a sudden heart attack in September 2018.
  • Kratu, a rescue dog from Romania, whose appearances at Crufts became a viral phenomenon.
  • Lila, British General Howe's fox terrier who wandered off during the 1777 Battle of Germantown; the dog was recovered by American troops and was fed, cleaned and brushed before being returned to the British camp under a flag of truce, with a cordial note from General Washington.
  • Loukanikos, a dog who was active during Anti-austerity movement in Greece, from 2010 through 2012. He was featured in the Time Person of the Year 2011 issue.
  • Malchik, a mongrel street dog who resided in the Moscow Metro, and whose stabbing death sparked a public outcry.
  • Manchinha, a female mixed-breed dog who was beaten and poisoned to death by an employee of Carrefour Brazil.
  • Max, an English Springer Spaniel who was the first pet dog to be awarded the PDSA Order of Merit.
  • Mishka, a Siberian Husky. Mishka has a YouTube channel with over 500 videos. Mishka became popular from a video of her saying "I love you." Mishka has made several appearances on TV talk shows.
  • Natividad, an emaciated stray dog featured in a controversial display by artist Guillermo Vargas Habacuc in the Visual Arts Biennial of Central America, later the subject of widespread rumours on the Internet that he was starved to death by the artist.
  • Negro Matapacos, a dog who participated at many street demonstrations in Santiago, Chile.
  • Orelha, a community dog killed in Praia Brava, a neighborhood in northern Florianópolis, Brazil.
  • Oscar, a Pug belonging to a professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, was the center of public controversy after his owner assigned an advertising class to make the dog famous.
  • Paddy the Wanderer, an Airedale Terrier who roamed the streets of Wellington, New Zealand during the Great Depression and was known for taking trips on visiting ships.
  • Peanut Butter, a Shiba Inu trained by speedrunner JSR to press buttons on a special-built video game controller. Called the world's first speedrunning dog, Peanut Butter has appeared at two Games Done Quick events, playing Gyromite and ' for the Nintendo Entertainment System.
  • Pickles, discovered the Jules Rimet trophy (the Football World Cup) after it had been stolen in England in 1966.
  • Pickles, a dog often cited as the name origin for the sport of pickleball.
  • Presley, the boxer, won the title of the Greatest American Dog in the 2008 CBS television show of the same name.
  • Preta, a pregnant black dog tied to the bumper of a car and dragged through the Brazilian city of Pelotas in 2005
  • Red Dog, a kelpie–cattle dog cross who travelled around the Pilbara region of Western Australia from 1975 (when his truck-driver owner died), befriending many locals, until his death in 1979, believed to have been caused by deliberate strychnine poisoning.
  • Rigel, erstwhile but perhaps mythical Newfoundland pet of first officer William Murdoch aboard the . Murdoch went down with the ship, but Rigel swam for three hours next to a lifeboat until it was rescued by the . Rigel is renowned as a hero, alerting the Carpathias captain of the weakened survivors before the ship hit them. Rigel was adopted by crewman Jonas Briggs.
  • Robot, a dog who belonged to a boy named Simon, discovered the cave paintings at Lascaux in 1940.
  • Rosie, an Australian Silky Terrier who saved her owners' lives during a house fire in Launceston, Tasmania in 2010.
  • Sansão, whose hind legs where both severed in a case of animal cruelty in Brazil.
  • Saucisse, a candidate at the 2001 election of mayor in Marseille and also a candidate in the TV reality show Secret Story 2009.
  • Scrim, a mixed breed stray rescued from a New Orleans animal shelter who twice escaped potential homes and eluded capture for almost a year, becoming the subject of national news and an icon of New Orleans.
  • Sensation, the English Pointer featured on the logo of the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show.
  • Star was a mixed-breed female pit bull who was shot by the New York City Police Department in 2012 while she was protecting her homeless owner, who was in the midst of a seizure. Star's shooting was captured on video, and went viral, leading to controversies over police handling of companion dogs.
  • Tawny, a yellow Labrador Retriever who in 1999 gave birth to 18 puppies in her very first litter. For this she received the "Iams Mother of the Year" Award.
  • Tika, an Italian Greyhound with a large social media following
  • Tubby, a cocker spaniel, was the only fatality of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge disaster. Tubby died when the bridge fell and his body was never recovered.
  • Tuna, a Chihuahua/Dachshund cross and internet celebrity.
  • Willie, a handicapped Dachshund who was killed alongside his owner Barbara Weston in 1993. The discovery of his wheelchair alongside their skeletal remains in a septic pit three years later was pivotal in police identifying them, and bringing their killer Stephen Swaim to justice.
  • Willie Bean, a Golden Retriever, was the focus of several political satires during 2008.
  • Word, a male Lhasa Apso, was sentenced to death on 4 May 1993 following two biting incidents. He was incarcerated at the Seattle Animal Control Shelter for a total of eight years and 190 days before being released on 10 November 2001, which is the Guinness World Record for the longest time on dog death row.
  • Whitney Chewston, a Dachshund originating on Instagram that later became known as the "Homophobic Dog" in internet meme culture.
  • Manny the Frenchie, American French Bulldog that achieved Internet celebrity via the posting of his photographs on various social media websites.

Fame by proxy to a famous owner

Some dogs are made famous by frequently or prominently appearing in the media with their famous owner.

Dogs of actors and entertainers

Dogs of artists

Dogs of musicians

Dogs of political figures

Dogs of U.S. presidents and their families

Dogs of writers and poets

  • Boatswain, the favorite pet of Lord Byron, was the subject of the poet's Epitaph to a dog.
  • Cabal, the white German Shepherd belonging to Neil Gaiman, who frequently features in his blog.
  • Flush, Elizabeth Barrett Browning's who was the subject of Virginia Woolf's ', published in 1933.
  • Jacksie, a small dog belonging to C. S. Lewis in his childhood, died in an accident when Lewis was four years old. Shortly thereafter, a young Lewis began calling himself Jacksie. Lewis was known to friends and family as Jack for the rest of his life.
  • Josephine, a black miniature Poodle belonging to author Jacqueline Susann, and subject of her memoir Every Night, Josephine!.
  • Marley, a yellow Labrador Retriever, was owned by journalist John Grogan. Marley was a neurotic dog, but proved himself to be a great and memorable pet, as stated in Grogan's book Marley & Me.
  • Marlowe, Stephen King's Pembroke Welsh Corgi, inspired the character of Oy in King's fantasy series The Dark Tower.
  • Nero, who belonged to Thomas and Jane Carlyle. He was small, 'part Maltese terrier, part mongrel', black and white, and described by Jane as having 'long white silky hair hanging all about him – and over his eyes which are very large and black'. Arriving in 1849, he stayed with them until his death in 1860.
  • Norbert, a dog who appears in his own picture book series.
  • Phiz, a Boston Terrier, was given to Helen Keller by some of her classmates from Radcliffe College.
  • Pippin, whose carsickness inspired K. V. Johansen's series of picture books.
  • Trixie Koontz, a retired service dog who died 30 June 2007, purported author of Life is Good: Lessons in Joyful Living and Christmas is Good, companion of Dean Koontz.

Others

See also

References

External links