everyone's fixation on "laika" (the russian space dog, i'm sure you've heard of her.) irritates me somewhat. she's an important piece of history, especially the history of space travel, but there are far more notable historical dogs then one of the most tragic ones. most of the time i would rather not think about the tragic ones.

for one, there's togo & balto - the two lead dogs who pulled the dogsled during the serum run to nome, alaska. balto is the one who's more known, because his team led the final stretch. togo was the lead dog who traveled the greatest distance.

-image source

this is an incomplete and growing list, it'll be updated whenever i want to add another listing.

JED

jed is the dog from the thing (1982). he was a wolfdog, specifically an alaskan malamute X vancouver island wolf, and he starred in several movies (notably white fang), alongside his role in the thing. he was not the first dog in films.

RIN TIN TIN

rin tin tin was one of the first dogs in film. he was a german shepherd, and he was found by an active duty soldier in a town with a damaged kennel that was used to supply the german army with dogs. the only survivors in this kennel were a nursing mother and the five puppies, who were likely still under a week old. rin tin tin and one sibling were kept by the soldier who found them.

this soldier was a founding member of the german shepherd club of california.

rin tin tin had an aggressive temperament - as would be expected from a dog bred to be a war dog. eventually he did go on to star in many silent films, typically playing the role of a wolf.

SALTY & ROSELLE

two labrador retriever guide dogs who led their owners out of the collapsing towers on 9/11. salty led his owner from the 71st floor, and roselle led her owner and 30 other people from the 78th floor.

BELKA & STRELKA

if you want space dogs, talk about belka & strelka. the two of them survived the trip, and strelka went on to have six puppies. as of 2015, some of the descendants are still living.

"K9 KILLER"

a belgian malinois who worked in south africa to apprehend rhino poachers. he led to the arrest of 115 poachers, and he primarily would track them by scent of animal parts and firearms.

LIKELY FAKE DOGS

RIGEL

the newfoundland dog that was allegedly owned by the captain of the titanic and saved many people during the ship's sinking. this dog probably never existed, but it's a fun one to think about.