FAMOUS DOGS & THEIR OWNERS

Famous Fictional Dogs
Dogs owned by Famous People and celebrities
Famous Police Dogs

Their names and their stories are all detailed in this section. If you are looking for some inspiration for a dog's name for a new puppy perhaps celebrity dog names will provide you with the inspiration you are looking for.

Nipper - His Master's Voice
Nipper was the most famous dog recognised by millions of music lovers. The record label for HMV (His Master's Voice) featured a picture of Nipper listening to his master's gramophone - take a look at the picture at the top of the page which might stir a few happy memories!

Fluffy
Who can forget the three-headed dog who guarded the Philosopher's Stone at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Certainly not Harry Potter, Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger!

Toto - Dorothy's dog- The Wizard of Oz
Toto was Dorothy's dog in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. A mischievous dog portrayed as a Cairn Terrier in the movie The Wizard of Oz starring Judy Garland.

Lassie
There have been many dogs called Lassie but the first Lassie a rough collie starred in the 1942 movie 'Lassie Come Home'. Lassie was played by several male dogs, despite the female name, because male collies were thought to look better on camera.

Bingo
Bingo is the name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box

Lady and Tramp
Walt Disney's family dog was a poodle named Lady. Perhaps this name was the inspiration for Disney's famous animated movie 'Lady and the Tramp'

Rover
In 1905 the first canine movie star was featured in "Rescued by Rover"

Max
The name of the dog from "The Grinch Who Stole Christmas" is Max

Crab - The Shakespearean Dog
The only dog to ever appear in a play by William Shakespearean was Crab who appeared in "The Two Gentlemen of Verona." To find out more about William Shakespeare visit the most comprehensive site on the great Bard - William Shakespeare.info

Thisbe
The tragic Queen of France Marie Antoinette, who was beheaded on the Guillotine, owned a Spaniel dog named Thisbe.

Pongo and Perdita - 101 Dalmations
Pongo and Perdita were the stars of the famous animated Disney movie - 101 Dalmatians. Pongo has 72 spots, Perdita has 68 and each of the puppies has 32 !

Blondi
Adolf Hitler's favorite dog was an alsatian called Blondi. Adolf Hitler used Blondi to make sure cyanide capsules were lethal. Hitler then used the cyanide to commit suicide when he saw it worked on Blondi

Greyfriars Bobby
Greyfriars Bobby was a famous Skye Terrier immortalised in the Disney movie of the same name. In 1858 a man named John Gray (Old Jock) was buried in old Greyfriars Churchyard, in Edinburgh. This loyal dog slept on his master's grave for the next 14 years until his own death. A statue commemorates this most loyal of dogs.

Flush
Flush was the name of the dog owned by the English poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning immortalised in the movie the ' Barretts of Wimpole Street ' starring Charles Laughton who played her strict father. Elizabeth Barrett was an invalid and confined to the house for many years. During this time she acquired a love of poetry and wrote the famous dog poem simply called ' To Flush, My Dog '. Her love of poetry lead her to meet another famous English poet called Robert Browning. They fell in love and married despite the objections of her father.

K9
A mechanical dog was given the name K9 in the cult British TV series Dr. Who. Originally intended as a children's program Dr. Who quickly became popular with adults thanks to K9 and, of course, the Daleks.

Dog Breeds - ABC List

Bullseye - Fictional Dog from Oliver Twist
Bullseye was the famous dog belonging to the villain Bill Sykes dog in the book called Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens. The dog was vicious having been badly treated by Bill Sykes but nevertheless was loyal to his owner.

Nana - The Darling's Dog in Peter Pan
Nana was the Newfoundland dog belonging to the Darling Family in Peter Pan by J. M. Barrie. Nana howled to alert Wendy's parents that the children were flying away. Mr. Darling ignored the warning of Nana and was so remorseful at the loss of the children that he slept in the kennel in Nana's place until their safe return.

Quoodle
Our favourite dog poem of all time is The Song of Quoodle by G.K.Chesterton - a real treat for anyone who has never heard of this poem. Gilbert Keith Chesterton, otherwise known as G. K. Chesterton was an English Poet and Journalist who lived between 1874 and 1936. He was educated at University College and was first published in 1896.

Balto - Siberian Husky
Balto was the lead dog in the team of Siberian huskies who carried Diptheria serum 650 miles from Anchorage to epidemic-ridden Nome in 1925

Robot - The Lascaux Cave Paintings
Robot was the dog who discovered the cave paintings at Lascaux September 12, 1940. His owner was a young 17 year old French lad called Marcel Ravidat

Rin Tin Tin
Rin Tin Tin was one of the most famous and popular canine movie stars. Rin Tin Tin was always played by a German shepherd, or alsatian. "Rinty" was featured in a total of 24 Warner Brothers movies.

Dog Names Index

Suening - The Dog King
King Eystein who ruled Norway between 1104 and 1123 decreed that, as a punishment to his people, that a dog called Suening should rule in his place. Three years passed where Suening routinely signed decrees with with paw-prints!

Luath
Luath was the name of the dog owned by the famous poet Robert Burns. Robert Burns came from Scotland and lived between 1759 and 1796. He was educated at home and his father was a gardener and farmer. The most famous poems by Robert Burns were A Red Red Rose and Auld Lang Syne ! Robert Burns was a Dog Lover who wrote a poem dedicated to dogs called The Twa Dogs

Argus - Odysseus's dog
Argus (or Argos) was the name of a long-lived dog owned by Odysseus in the Odyssey by Homer. When Odysseus returns from his long voyages he wears the disguise of a beggar and only Argus his loyal old dog, recognizes him.

Anubis - Ancient Egyptian God
Anubis was an Ancient Egyptian god with a dog's (or a jackal's) head. Anubis was the God of the Dead and is usually depicted as a black dog with long sharp ears The black colour of Anubis is not natural to jackals or to the wild dogs of Egypt - it may refer to the dark discoloration of a body after death and during mummification.

Black Shuck - The Spectre Hound - The Baskerville Hound?
Black Shuck is the name of a legendary ghost hound said to haunt the ancient roads of Norfolk, England. Said to be the size of a calf with blazing eyes. This mythological ghost dog is said to have inspired Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous book The Hound of the Baskervilles.

Cafall - Noble Dog of King Arthur
Cafall is reputed to be the dog who was owned by King Arthur of Camelot. Cafall was a mighty dog, brave, loyal and regal. The type of dog only a King such as Arthur was able to own.

Cerberus - The Hound of Hades
According to Greek Mythology Cerberus was a strange and fiercesome mixture of creatures - having three heads of wild dogs, a dragon or serpent for a tail and heads of snakes all over his back. It was the twelth labour of Hercules to go to the depths of Hades and kill Cerberus.

Boatswain - Lord Byron's Dog
Boatswain was the Newfoundland dog referred to in one of the Dog Epitaphs by Lord Byron

Scylla - The She-Dragon
Scylla, or Skylla, was a part-dog figure featured in Greek mythology. A She-Dragon with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a serpentine fish with the foreparts of six dogs for legs.

The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Hound of the Baskervilles, the terrifying killer dog portrayed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle in the book of the same name. It is possible that he based the hound on the legendary Black Shuck of Norfolk, England.

Timmy
Timmy was the fifth member of the Famous Five in the Famous Five series of books by Enid Blyton.

Flash - TV Dog
Flash was the Basset Hound from The Dukes of Hazzard TV series.

Hachiko - Japanese symbol of loyalty

Each year on April 8th at a ceremony in Tokyo's Shibuya railway station dog lovers do homage to the loyalty and devotion of an Akita dog called Hachiko. Hachiko was the loyal and faithful pet of Dr. Eisaburo Ueno, a professor at Tokyo University. On May 21st 1925, when Hachiko was eighteen months old Dr Ueno died. The next day and for the next nine years, Hachiko returned to the station and waited for his master before walking home, alone.

Old Shep - Faithful American dog
Old Shep maintained a five year vigil at the train station in Fort Benton, Montana after seeing the coffin of his master loaded onto a train.

Pickles - The World Cup Dog
Pickles, discovered the Jules Rimet trophy under a bush in South London (the Football World Cup) after it had been stolen in England in 1966.

The Bandog
The Bandog is said to be a huge spirit-world mastiff with massive jaws from which flames appear. The Bandog was believed to guard treasure buried beneath the Rock of Dunamase, the stronghold of the Kings of Leinster, overlooking Portlaoise in County Laois in Ireland.

Bob - The Parliamentary Candidate
In 1982 Bob, a Springer Spaniel, stood for Parliament representing "The Monster Raving Loony Barking Mad Dog Party". He was was owned by Lord David Sutch ( Screaming Lord Sutch).

Toby - The Richest Dog in the World
In 1932 the American millionairess, Ella Wendal left a record legacy of 75 million dollars in her will to her standard Poodle called Toby.

The Dam Buster Dog
Nigger was a black Labrador Retriever who belonged to the World War II Dam Buster Squadron Leader Guy Gibson who gave his dog's name as the codename to be used as the indication that the mission had been successful. The dog was sadly run over immediately prior to the raid and was killed. Guy Gibson ordered that the dog should be buried at midnight, the time that the raid was taking place.

Search and Rescue dogs - September 11, 2001 World Trade Center Terrorist attacks.
Over 300 dogs were brought into the site we now know as Ground Zero. The NYPD dogs were the first there.

Sirius - 2001 World Trade Center hero
Sirius was was attached to the Port Authority Police Department and was the only dog to lose his life in the search and rescue efforts following the September 11, 2001 World Trade Center Terrorist attacks.

Appollo - hero of NYPD K9 Search and Rescue team
Appollo, part of the New York police Department K9 Search and Rescue team was on the scene just fifteen minutes after the disaster.

Riva and Salty - Guide Dog World Trade Centre heroes
Riva and Salty were two guide dogs who saved their owner's lives just before the World Trade Centre collapsed. Riva and Salty guided their blind owners, Mr Roselle and Mr. Hingson down the crowded, smoke filled stairs from the 71st floor and were later honoured for their bravery.

Dogs in Space - Sputnik dogs
All of the Space dogs deserve a mention on any page dedicated to famous dogs. Five dogs tragically died during their flights.

Laika
Laika was the first dog in space on the Russian satellite Sputnik 2. This momentous event occurred on November 3rd,1957 at the height of the Cold war between Russia and the USA. It was a one-way trip as she burned up in the Earth's atmosphere on 4 April 1958.

Lisichka and Bars
Died during a test flight on July 28, 1960

Strelka and Belka
Safely recovered from a Sputnik launched August 19, 1960, it orbited the Earth 18 times. This was the first successful recovery of living creatures after an orbital mission. Strelka gave birth to puppies, one of them called Pushinka was presented by Soviet Premier Kruschev to President Kennedy. Pushinka had 4 puppies of her own puppies who JFK called “pupniks”!

Pchelka and Mushka
Died when Sputnik-3 re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in December 1960)

Damka and Krasavka
Launched December 22, 1960 and the two dogs survived an unplanned suborbital flight.

Chernushka
Launched March 9, 1961.

Zvezdochka
Launched on March 25, 1961 and orbited once in final preparation for the Vostok 1 mission. Zvezdochka was named by cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin.

Verterok and Ugolek
Were launched on February 22, 1966, in the satellite Kosmos 110. This was a 22-day mission.

The meanings of the Russian Space Dogs names are as follows:

Bars (Panther or Lynx)
Belka (Squirrel)
Chernushka (Blackie)
Damka (Little Lady)
Krasavka (Beauty)
Lisichka (Little Fox)
Mushka (Little Fly)
Pchelka (Little Bee)
Strelka (Little Arrow)
Ugolyok (Little Piece of Coal)
Verterok (Little Wind)
Zvezdochka (Little Star)

Dog Poems

Dogs Facts - Dog Quiz !
The famous dogs and their stories make fascinating reading. Our Dog Facts section includes more interesting facts and information about canines and their owners. If you enjoy Trivia and like Dogs then combine the two elements and try out your amazing knowledge of dogs by visiting the Dog Quiz - Can you make it to the 'Winner's Hall of Fame' ? The quiz is fully interactive and picture based - more like a fast game - have fun and enjoy!

Dog Quiz

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