Owney, World Traveling Post Office Dog
Winter 2019
Photo of early postal worker with Owney
Owney was a stray. He wandered into the Albany Post Office in 1888 and became a legend. He began traveling with mail wagons, then went farther and farther afield. He visited Japan, Mexico, Suez, Algiers and many other exotic places.
His postal friends, fearing he would get lost, furnished him with a vest and put metal baggage claims showing his travels on it along with a tag for his Albany home.
Owney and his vest were a glorious thing to see. And you can…
His remains were sent to the taxidermist and he “lives” on at the Smithsonian Museum, vest, baggage tags, and all.
There is much more to Owney’s story, so I suggest you go to the USPS history website, or this Atlas Obscura article where you will find a stuffed Owney and his forever friends. You can’t make this stuff up… no pun.
