Famous Dogs In History
Dogs have always been known as friends of mankind. It is impossible for many people to live without their faithful companion. Just as humans have made a name for themselves in history, there are some famous dogs in history, who have carved a niche for themselves too. Some famous dogs in history do not need an introduction, but there are others, who are not known to the rest of the world. |
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Here are some of the famous dogs that managed to make a special place for themselves in history.
Many people may not know Laika, a stray dog who was taken from the streets of Moscow and became a celebrity. Laika was the first living being sent to space on Sputnik 2. By doing this the Soviet Union's space program showed that it way advanced than the US space program. In their hurry to beat the United States, the scientists from the Soviet Union forgot to make provisions for Laika's safe return to Earth and as a result the poor famous stray dog perished deep in space.
Just like Laika, there were another two dogs that were sent to space. These dogs were sent in 1960 aboard Sputnik 5 and were called Strelka and Belka. Fortunately, this time round the scientists had the sense to make the necessary arrangements for the dogs to return to Earth after a one day mission in space.
Many people may not know this, but Alexander the Great had a dog named Peritas. While fighting Darius III of Persia, Alexander the Great was surrounded by the Persian army and on seeing this Peritas jumped in to save his master. He bit the lip of one of the elephants and saved his master's life. This allowed Alexander to conquer most of the world and establish his empire.
In the 1960s, when the Cuban missile crisis was at its peak, President Kennedy was in the War Room managing the chaos. He then asked for his son's dog, a Welsh terrier named Charlie, be brought into the room. He sat calmly holding the dog on his lap and kept petting it. It appeared as though the dog helped President Kennedy to make the right decision -- take steps to de-escalate a conflict that had gone out of hand.
Anyone who had had psychotherapy actually owes a big thanks to Sigmund Freud. It is claimed that Freud used to keep a dog named Jofi in his office while conducting psychotherapy on his patients. He believed that the dog helped to calm his patients. Freud made detail notes of the interaction of the patients and dogs and this ended up helping psychologists later on to start therapy using pets.
We all know the story of Henry VIII and his many wives. But little do people know that a dog had a role to play in establishing the Church of England. When Henry VIII wanted to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he sent Cardinal Wolsey to have a dialogue with Pope Clement VII. On meeting Wolsey, the Pope stuck out his bare toe to be kissed by the cardinal and instead of the cardinal kissing it, his dog, Urian, jumped forward and bit the pope. As a result the pope got furious and disallowed the annulment. This later led Henry VIII to form the Church of England.
When Napoleon Bonaparte was running to the island of Elba in the year 1815, he nearly died after he was tossed into stormy waters of the sea. However, a Newfoundland belonging to a fisherman jumped into the water and kept Napoleon floating until help arrived. Unfortunately, no one took time to find out this brave dog's name, but Napoleon lived to face defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.
In the year 1952, Richard Nixon was a vice presidential candidate for the US presidential elections. During this time, Nixon was accused of accepting around $18,000 as illegal contributions to his campaign fund. Nixon gave a speech and informed the nation he was guilty -- guilty of accepting an American cocker spaniel as a gift and this dog was called Checkers. The way Nixon affirmed his love for the dog during this speech changed the political tide and allowed Nixon to prolong his political career.
Another dog that is famous in history was called Peps and belonged to Richard Wagner, the music composer. Wagner composed the score The Ride of the Valkyrie for the film Apocalypse Now and it is said that had it not been for Peps, this score would have sounded a lot different. While Wagner was composing this score, he used to pay close attention to his dog's reaction. Based on this, Wagner would decide to keep a passage or discard it.
The American Revolution occurred because of dog. Yes, it sounds strange and funny, but there is a story behind this fact. When Edward I, who was king of England, wanted to bring down Robert the Bruce in the year 1306, he used Robert's dog Donnchadh to find him. While the dog led Edward's men to Robert, he also turned around and defended his master ferociously. This saved Robert's life and he ended up becoming the king of Scotland. He also had a daughter, who went on to marry into the Stuart family. And, many hundreds of years later, King George III, who was a direct descendent of Robert, acted foolishly and this caused the Americans to rebel against British colonial rule. Today, modern medicine claims that King George suffered from dementia due to a disease known as porphyria and this disease is genetically transmitted. Scientists believe that King George inherited this disease from the Stuarts, the same family into which Robert's daughter married.
Of course, there are many more famous dogs in history, but these some of the few that many people may know nothing about. All these dogs placed a role in changing the course of history with their actions. While some dogs changed history for the better, others did not know that they would end up having a negative impact on history and the world. Who can blame these poor dogs? After all, they are man's best friend and they were just doing what was asked of them.
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CNN: Ten Dogs That Changed The World
http://edition.cnn.com/2007/LIVING/wayoflife/
11/01/ten.dogs/?iref=mpstoryview
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China is an ancient civilization, which has been credited for inventing many things. The country has a rich culture and tradition that has a lot to offer people. It is estimated that the China's civilization began more than 5,000 years ago when the first village was established here. Initially, the region was controlled by warlords, who fought one another for supremacy. However, once the Qin dynasty was established in 221 BC, the entire region united and became a force to reckon with, something that is true even today. 