Dog Facts

Dogs have been kept by people, both as pets and as working animals, for thousands of years. In this time the dog has developed into hundreds of breeds of every size, from the Chihuahua to the Irish Wolfhound.

Dogs are highly social animals which gives them the ability to fit into human households and social situations. The loyalty and devotion that dogs demonstrate is part of their natural instincts as pack animals. Dogs view their human companions as members of their pack, and make few, if any, distinctions between their owners and fellow canines.

Dogs have lived with and worked with humans in so many roles that their loyalty has earned them the accolade of "man's best friend."

Did you know:

Pete, Teddy Roosevelt's bull terrier, caused quite a stir when Pete attacked a French ambassador. The ambassador was not hurt but the same could not be said of his trousers!

Chocolate contains theobromine that is toxic to dogs and can even cause death.

Rin Tin Tin was the first Hollywood dog star

Toto, who appeared in the film The Wizard of Oz, was played by a female Cairn Terrier named Terry

The first guide dogs were developed in Germany in the 1920s for veterans who had lost their sight during World War I.

The oldest dog was an Australian Cattle Dog, named Bluey, who lived to be 29.

The most famous mountain rescue dog was a St. Bernard called Barry (sometimes spelled Berry). He lived at a monastery near the Swiss-Italian border and was responsible for saving over 40 lives. Barry's body is preserved and on display at the Natural History Museum in Berne. There is also a monument to him at the entrance to the Cimetire des Chiens in Paris.