Owney: Star Pup of the US Railway Mail Service

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In the late 1800s, a dog called Owney became a star as he won over the hearts of postal workers across the United States and sometimes, even, beyond. This episode is all about Owney, his adventures, the souvenirs he collected, and his revered place in postal history.

Host: Christine

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Further Reading

Erin Blasco, "The Big Reveal: Owney the Dog Emerges from his "Makeover"", Smithsonian Institution, (July 21, 2011).

Erin Blasco and MJ Meredith, "Preserving the Real Thing: An Interview with Owney the Dog’s Taxidermist", Smithsonian Institution, (May 26, 2011).

James Bruns, Owney: Mascot of the Railway Mail Service, National Postal Museum/Smithsonian Institution, (1990).

Arcynta Ali Childs, "Owney the Mail Dog", Smithsonian Magazine, (September 2011).

"A Dog on the Road", Marble Hill Press, (February 7, 1895).

Rose Hayes, "Winners announced in Owney the Dog Look-Alike Contest", York Daily Record, (October 19, 2011).

Charles A. Huguenin, “Owney, Canine Globe-Trotter”, New York History 38:1 (1957).

"Mr. Owney and His Travels", Omaha Daily Bee, (April 9, 1893).

"Owney the Dog", The Roanoke Daily Times, (July 24, 1896).

"Owney, the Famous Tramp", The Big Stone Gap Post, (April 6, 1893).

"Owney Goes Around the World", Smithsonian Institution, (August 19, 2010).

"Owney is Dead," The Houston Daily Post, (June 13, 1897).

"Owney is Not Dead," The Seattle post-intelligencer, (May 2, 1897).

Fred J. Romanski, "The Fast Mail", National Archives, 37:3 (Fall 2005).

Jill Lenk Schilp, Dogs of the Railways, McFarland (2024).

"A Traveling Dog", Staunton Spectator, (June 29, 1892).

​Owney at the Smithsonian

• Owney the Dog (Preserved)
• Owney the Railway Dog StoryMap
• The Owney Song
• Owney Stamp
• Story of Owney

Images
​
Baltimore and Grafton Railway Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1892.​

Baltimore, Maryland Owney tag, Smithsonian, Undated.​

Butterfly Bench Show Association Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1896.

Lawrence, Massachusetts Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1896.

Metered picture postcard (main image for this episode), Smithsonian, 1994.

Owney the dog, Smithsonian, c 1885-1897.

Photograph of Illustration of Owney on a mail sack, Smithsonian, c. 1895.

Photograph of Owney and Railway Post Office Clerks, Smithsonian, c. 1895.
​
Rock Island, Illinois Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1895.

S.C. Kennel Club Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1893.

Related Content

This episode is part of our Dog History Series.

​​Music: "Evening Melodrama" by Kevin Macleod (www.incompetech.com)

Statue of Owney on display at the National Postal Museum. Photograph by Christine Caccipuoti, 2023.

Photograph of Owney and Railway Post Office clerks, Smithsonian, c. 1895. Image courtesy of the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Photograph of Illustration of Owney on a mail sack, Smithsonian, c. 1895. Image courtesy of the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution

Baltimore and Grafton Railway Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1892

Owney the dog, Smithsonian, c 1885-1897. Image courtesy of the National Postal Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

S.C. Kennel Club Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1893

Baltimore, Maryland Owney tag, Smithsonian, Undated

Rock Island, Illinois Owney Tag, Smithsonian, 1895

Butterfly Bench Show Association Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1896

Lawrence, Massachusetts Owney tag, Smithsonian, 1896