15 Dogs Immortalized in Statue Form — An Honor That Will Never Be Bestowed Upon You

Greyfriars Bobby was a Skye terrier belonging to Edinburgh night watchman John Gray. When Gray died, Bobby stood guard over his grave for 14 years until he died, like that heartbreaking episode of Futurama. 

Bamse was a St. Bernard that became a symbol of Norwegian freedom during World War II. He once pulled a drowning crew member out of the sea, and attacked a knife-wielding assailant. He would also catch buses on his own. 

Legend says Prince Llywelyn of Wales found his baby’s crib overturned and his dog, Gelert, covered in blood. He killed Gelert, then heard crying — his baby was safe. Gelert had protected it from a wolf. Llywelyn never smiled again. Good.

A recent accompaniment to more famous pissing statues (Europeans, they love it), Brussels-based sculptor Tom Frantzen made a dog statue based on his own pet. The statue was hit by a car — just like a real dog! — before being restored.

In 1923, the Brazier family traveled with their dog Bobbie from Oregon to Indiana. Stopping during the route, Bobbie got attacked and fled. The Braziers couldn’t find him, but six months later he showed up, having traveled 2,500 miles to come home. 

Fala, a Scottish terrier, belonged to Franklin D. Roosevelt and traveled everywhere with him. On one occasion he was left on the Aleutian Islands. FDR was accused of sending a Navy destroyer to get him, paid for by the public.

Queen Victoria spent 40 years in mourning after her husband died. But for a while she had a dog, Islay, a cairn terrier who she loved. Islay died after, pathetically, a fight with a cat.

In 1680, when the king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj died, his faithful mongrel Waghya was so upset that he jumped into Shivaji’s funeral pyre. That’s not a nice story at all. That’s really horrible. 

George, a Jack Russell, intervened when two pitbulls began attacking children in New Zealand. While he successfully protected the kids, he was injured in the incident and had to be put down. So were the pitbulls, but fuck them. 

Hachiko was an Akita who would walk to the station with his professor owner every morning and meet him at the train at night. When the professor died, Hachiko turned up at the station for another 10 years. 

A Newfoundland called Sergeant Gander was part of the Battle of Hong Kong, the day after Pearl Harbor. He saved several injured Canadian soldiers by picking up a grenade thrown by the Japanese and running it — fatally — back to them. 

Patsy Ann was a deaf bull terrier who roamed the streets of Juneau. She became known as the “official greeter” of Juneau, running to welcome any ship that showed up. When she died, she was buried at sea.

During a bombing raid in the Battle of the Sheldt in World War II, Lance Corporal Jimmy Muldoon was dragged under the sea by his heavy pack. Khan, his German Shepherd, came to his rescue and dragged him to shore.

Balto was a husky who led a team of dogs 674 miles through a blizzard from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska to deliver diphtheria medicine to sick kids. Balto was at the unveiling of his own statue, like a true star.

Laika was the first dog in space, launched up there in 1957 aboard Sputnik 2. However, it was always to be a one-way mission — the engineers hadn’t worked out how to return it from orbit. NOOOOOO NO NO NO NO.