16: Wojtek Syrian Brown Bear who Helped the Polish Troops in World War II Born: c.1942, Syria Died: 2 December 1963, Edinburgh, Scotland, United Kingdom Wojtek is a shortened form of the Polish name Wojciech, which means “Joyful Warrior.” According to Expats Poland, “Wojtek” is pronounced in English as “Voy-Tek.” Among other things, Wojtek…
Let’s start at the beginning–shall we?😂 When I was nineteen, I fell in love with the Scottish heritage I inherited from my Paternal Grandmother, who was a very proud descendant of the Graham Clan. Around the same time, I also fell in love with the Outlander books and TV show, which revolve around Scottish…
“I resented the statue to Balto, for if any dog deserved special mention, it was Togo.” -Leonhard Seppala, Togo’s Owner 15: Togo Helped Deliver Medicine to Children in Nome, Alaska Born: October 1913, Alaska, United States of America Died: 5 December 1929, Poland Spring, Maine, United States of America In 1925, the small town of…
14: Trakr Pulled the Last Survivor Out of the World Trade Center After the 9/11 Terror Attacks Born: c.1994 Prague, Czech Republic Died: April 2009, Los Angeles, California, USA Trakr was a German Shepherd living in Canada in 2001. He had been trained as a police K9 dog in Halifax, and earlier on in his…
13: Hachikō Dog Remembered for His Loyalty to His Owner, Even After the Owner Passed Away Born: 10 November 1923, Odate City, Akita Prefecture, Japan Died: 8 March 1935, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan Also Known As: Hachi Hachikō is arguably the most-famous dog in Japanese history. His story has been immortalized in several movies, books, and…
12: Tardar Sauce The Internet’s Most Famous Cat Born: 4 April 2012, Morristown, Arizona, United States of America Died: 14 May 2019, Morristown, Arizona, United States of America Also Known As: Grumpy Cat Tardar Sauce climbed to internet fame in 2012 when her image went viral for the first time. In the beginning, people claimed…
11: Harambe the Gorilla Gorilla Whose Tragic Death Became One of the Biggest Internet News Stories of All Time Born: 27 May 1999, Brownsville, Texas, United States of America Died: 28 May 2016, Cincinnati, Ohio, United States of America Harambe was a western lowland silverback gorilla. He was born at the Gladys Porter Zoo in…
10: Smokey Bear The Real-Life Inspiration Behind the Campaign “Only YOU Can Prevent Wildfires!” Born: January 1950, Lincoln National Forest (Near Capitan), New Mexico, United States of America Died: 9 May 1976, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America In Spring 1950, a wildfire was blazing through the Capitan Mountains in New Mexico. While…
9: Ol’ Rip The Texas Horned Toad Born: c.1897 or Earlier, Most-Likely Texas, United States of America Died: 19 January 1929, Eastland, Texas, United States of America In 1897, the city of Eastland in Texas was building a courthouse. A local resident had heard that horned toads, a specific kind of lizard native to the…
8: Cher Ami Carrier Pigeon That Saved the Lost Battalion in World War I Born: c. Late March-Early April 1918, Possibly Norfolk, England, United Kingdom Died: 13 June 1919, Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, United States of America During the years in which World War I was fought, technologies like telephones and radio communications were still…