Herding Bronze Cats

"Stubby Salutes," was unveiled on May 23rd at the AKC Museum of the Dog in Manhattan. Stubby is considered to be the first US military dog. He reached the rank of Sergeant during WWI. Photo: AMNY Earlier this week, in honor of Memorial Day in the United States, a statue of a hero was unveiled in New York. Of course there are a lot of statues of military heroes in New York, but this one is different: it's a bulldog. And not just any bulldog, Sgt. Stubby is generally considered to be the first official service-dog in the US military. He began as a stray and earned the rank of Segrant through his bravery and dedication to the men he served with. He's a truly inspiring pup. In the midst of WWI a bulldog wandered onto the base of the 102 Infantry Regiment in the 26th Yankee Division at Yale. He quickly befriended an infantryman named Robert Conroy. Conroy named the short-legged bulldog Stubby, and used his overcoat to smuggle him onto the ship when he was deployed. ...

Secretariat's statue at Belmont Park has a history almost as amazing as the horse's abilities. New York Times photo Today the Belmont Stakes is taking place in Elmont, New York very soon. The favorite is Triple Crown hopeful Justify. In case you're not a fan of the sport of kings, I'll translate: there's a big horse race today; Justify has already won the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness Stakes. Odds-makers think he'll win this one too. There are so many stories that we can look during the run up to a big race like this. I'd like to take the opportunity to discuss the memorial statues that surround the sport in the U.S. and one statue in particular, the statue of Secretariat, a past Triple Crown winner, that sits in the paddock at Belmont Park. This is the first horse memorial that I've covered in the blog. That probably betrays a bias of mine. I'm a dog person. Don't get me wrong, I like horses and even spent some time at a racetrack with ...