Owney the Mail Pouch Pooch

Today (July 27) the United States Post Office issues a new "forever" stamp, honoring "Owney, the Mail Pouch Pooch."

Owney was a stray fox terrier who adopted the Albany New York Post Office as his new home in 1888.

Click photo for film

The National Postal Museum displays a short film, explaining how Owney eventually traveled around the world, with loving care and protection provided by Railway Post Office (RPO) personnel, Royal Mail Service (RMS) employees, and others in various postal services.

Now the Albany Post Office staff had fitted Owney with a collar to insure he'd be routed back to them if he ever got lost. Everywhere Owney went, postal employees would affix a tag, used on mail bags, to verify where he had been.

More than 1000 tags were collected. (small arrow in bottom right advances slide show. Pass your mouse over each tag to learn its origin. Double Click on each tag for the detailed story behind the tag.)

Owney even has his own web site. A link on that site, "Places Owney Visited" traces Owney's 11 year odyssey around the world between 1888 and 1897.

Today, Owney is guarding the Postal Museum in Washington D.C.