#4547 - (44¢) Owney the Postal Dog

Traveling the country, and later the globe, the Border terrier Owney (1887-1897) became the official mascot of the United States Postal Service. A dog with a fondness for mail bags, Owney rode the railways, faithfully guarding the mail and sleeping on the bags. To catalog his journeys, clerks would affix tags and ties from the various post offices he would visit to his collar. When his collar became overburdened by the weight and number of tags, Postmaster General John Wanamaker gave Owney a special coat to display them all. Owney is said to have collected as many as 1,017 medals and tokens, originating not only from the United States, but areas around the world including North Africa, the Middle East, and Japan. On the occasion of his death, Owney’s remains were preserved and are on display at the Smithsonian Museum. Over 300 of his tags and medals are in the possession of the National Postal Museum. Scott 4547 Owney the Postal Dog