Tis but an olden theme
To sing the faithful dog.
Lydia Sigourney, Hartford’s famous Victorian poet, published those lines in her poem “The Faithful Dog” in 1850. Poets, writers, and artists have celebrated the love and loyalty of animals long before and ever since. Selected prints, drawings, paintings, and photographs depicting “faithful dogs” (and cats) are on display in the CHS exhibition, “Cats & Dogs in Art and Life,” open through April 6, 2013.
One of Connecticut’s most famous dogs is Stubby, a World War I hero from New Haven, CT who served in the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division. Stubby participated in 17 battles during the war, searching for injured soldiers, warning of imminent gas attacks, and surviving a grenade attack. For capturing a German spy, Stubby was promoted to Sergeant, the first dog to be given rank in the United States Armed Forces.
Other dogs remembered in the exhibit include the 147 sled dogs who participated in the 1934 Antarctic expedition led by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd. John Henry Von der Wall of Bolton, CT was a member of the expedition and saved a collection of the “Barrier Bull” newsletters that documented life at the camp, including births, deaths, and hardships of the indispensible dogs.
But what about cats? Cats may not have the same “heroic” reputation as dogs, but Connecticut does have at least one famous and hard-working cat. Tommy Postoffice was an "employee" of the Hartford Post Office from about 1894 until his death in 1909. Tommy kept the rat population in check, and his adventures included nearly suffocating after getting trapped in the post office safe over the weekend and being tossed into the building's furnace by a cat-hating employee. His exploits are recorded in many newspaper articles and in The Adventures of Tommy Postoffice: The True Story of a Cat by Gabrielle E. Jackson.
Be sure to visit Cats & Dogs in Art in Life at the Connecticut Historical Society. While you’re there, you can add your artistic inspiration to the Cats & Dogs wall mural or submit a photograph of your own loyal animal to be displayed in the Cats & Dogs Portrait Gallery, which features photographs of cats & dogs from the 1800s to today. Visit www.chs.org/exhibitsto learn more.
‘Tis but an olden theme
To sing the faithful dog. The storied page
Full oft hath told his tried fidelity,
In legend quaint. Yet if in this our world
True friendship is a scarce and chary plant
It might be well, to stoop and sow its seed
Even in the humble bosom of a brute.
—Slight nutriment it needs:—the kindly tone,
The sheltering roof, the fragments from the board,
The frank caress, or treasured word of praise
For deeds of loyalty.
So mayest thou win
A willing servant, and an earnest friend,
Faithful to death
—Lydia Sigourney, Hartford, 1850
