Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1892-06-29
A TRAVELLING DOG.
OWNEY GOES ALL OVER THE COUN-
TRY, BUT HAS NO EXPENSES.

He Is the Railway Mail Service Dog and
Travels the Length and breadth of the
Land Without Money Passes-Aii
Mail Clerks Are His Friends.
1t must have been something of Il wag.
who said that the tale of dog always
goes" l feel bound to agree with the wag
especially when it comes to taking hold of
the tale of such an interesting character as
Owney, the railway mail service deg.
Ownev is the greatest interstate Traveller
eXtant. He boasts neither of good looks
nor of money, and still nine-tenths of his
time is spent in mail cars on various rail
roads and takes up a journey across the
continent with less preparation than you
and l would make if we were going to
breakfast. When he makes up his mind
his wardrobe is made up. and he's off.
That's all there is to it.
Owney has more friends than he can
shake his tail at if he devoted IL whole
month for that purpose. In fact they are
sort of stock in trade with him.
There is nothing pretty about Owney, ex
cepting his eyes, and his long association
with mail pouches has even given those
leathery expression. AS for his pedigree,
there is divergence of opinion. Some of
his friends believe he is a Skye terrier
while others tenaciously hold to it that he
is a Scotch terrier.
Some eight years ago a little pup strolled
into the Albany postofiice unbidden and
unkempt. At first there was disposition
to make the dog return to that unknown
place from whence it came, but that feel
ing person sometimes has for another in
distress exerted itself in the brute's behalf
and he was given food and lodgings and
subsequently the name of Owney.
There was tameness about the Albany
postoffice that Owney could not stand.
Things grew monotonous to him, and one
day when lot of mail pouches were loaded
up for an outgoing train Owney perched
himself on top of them, only getting off to
get in the railway mail car. Since then
Owney has been in about all the mail cars
Uncle Sam makes use of, and those he has
missed Owney probably expects to ride in
yet.
There is no one who dictates to the dog
as to where he shall 60, or, in fact, wheth
er he shall go at all. His dogness regu
lates all those little matters for himself.
Having made up his mind to start Oh a
trip, Owney boards the mail car Gn fact.
he will ride in no other) and throws him
self languidly on the mail pouches. and
the engine does the rest.
His moments of wakefulness are spent
in roaming about the car, and at meal
time he shares the luncheon of the railway
mail clerks. There are no times when he
winks for bread and is given leather, or
barks for water and is given mucilage.
The clerks always take good care of
fbai, hr1to oOp, ,pani0u xvbila he 10 with
them, for there is no knowing when he will
travel with them again nor at what sta
tion he will quit their company. If he is
satisfied with the appearance of town or
city as he gaZes upon it from the open car
door he jumps off.
How long he will remain in the place is
matter Owney himself determines. His
headquarters he makes at the postoffice.
where he will lounge about for day, or
for perhaps two or three, when he again
embarks and is off to pastures new.
He followed the mail pouches out of the
postoffice one day and entered western
bound car. From one station and another
came tidings of Owney's presence at these
various points until word was passed along
the line that the great traveller was ON the
Pacific slope, in the hospitable city of San
Francisco.
Whether it was the up hill and down
dale characteristics of the city that Owney
disliked he only knows, but his visit was
short, and in few days he was on his way
east by the southern route
During this trip Owney encountered a
new experience. He had always worn but
a plain leather collar, on which was
fastened silver plate bearing the inscrip
tion, "Owney, Albany postoffice."
But during his travels eastward some
body presented Owney with a tan leather
harness, and on this, one after another in
various cities, attached tags. medals and
coins and other mementos.
When the dog arrived in this city there
were between twenty and thirty official
postoflice marks stamped on as many brass
tags. Among the postoffices those re-
corded were those of San Antonio, Fort
Worth, New Orleans, Atlanta, Nashville,
Baltimore, Washington, Cincinnati and
Philadelphia
At each of these places had Owney paid
visits to the postoffices. He had also
visited several newspaper offices at various
points, for tags were given him by each.
There had evidently been disposition by
all whom Owney had encountered to pre-
sent him with something or other, no mat
ter how little it's value, for there were le:
half dollars and foreign coins tn
wouldn't pass anywhere else but on
Owney's back in this country
One of the funniest anecdotes told of
Owney, which clearly shows the dogs
wonderful familiarity with railroads and
their connections, happened two years
ago.
Owney was then in Albany and had
made up his mind to make trip over the
Boston and Albany railroad. He boarded
the mail car with his usual agility and
was about settling down for sleep when
the clerks, who had discovered that Owney
was being troubled with feas held IL
council of war.
The result was that it was decided to
put the dog off, and at East Albany Owney
was elected. Thus for the first time, so
far as history records. was Owney's dignity
insulted.
He knew better trick, however. than
the clerks and lost no time in carrying it
out. Owney boarded a local train for Troy.
where he made connection with train
on the Fitchburg road.
When the train arrived in Boston from
which Owney had been sllmmarily put off.
the clerks were surprised to find Owney
sitting on some mail pouches on the sta
tion platform. Owney had been in Boston
an hour and half-New York Herald.