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Some Famous Dogs in History
BALTO
Siberian husky that led his team 650 miles from Nenana to Nome carrying
Diptheria serum, 1925
BRUISER
From the movie Legally Blonde (his real name is Mooney)
LAIKA
The first dog in space. She was the first living creature ever to journey from
the Earth's surface into the cold and lonely darkness of space. But she never
returned, her journey aboard the Russian satellite Sputnik 2 was designed to be
a one-way ticket from the start.
Picked from obscurity off the streets of Moscow and catapulted
into space aboard the second satellite to ever orbit the Earth, Laika was the
lone crew member aboard the 1,110 lb. Russian vessel that hurled her into the
history books and the hearts of the people she left back on Earth on November 3,
1957.
Dubbed "Mutnik" by the American press, Laika, which
means "Bark" in Russian, was an unwilling instrument of the Cold War
and a pawn in the U.S. - Soviet Space Race that was very much the backdrop of
U.S.- Soviet relations at the time. The Space Race between the two Super Powers
had begun a month earlier with the launching of the unmanned Sputnik 1
satellite. Laika, the brave but ill-fated canine, was hermetically sealed in a
capsule that traveled nearly 18,000 miles per hour more than 900 miles above the
Earth's surface launched from the tip of a specially-converted Intercontinental
Ballistic Missile (ICBM).
Laika, like the other dogs that were chosen to be in the space
program, was selected because of her ability to remain calm for long periods of
time during extensive tests that preceded the flight. The dogs were taught to
live in small modules, wear space clothing and eat specially prepared,
jelly-like food. To get them ready for the deafening roar of the rockets and
their thundering vibrations, a simulator was used to help the dogs adapt. During
the flight, special microphones attached to the dog's chest allowed ground
control crews to listen and monitor the heroic dog's heartbeats.
Before Laika, Russia had two other canine cosmonauts that
almost made it into space, flying in a rocket 43 miles above the Earth. The dogs
returned in their capsules by parachute and came back alive. Laika's spacecraft
on the other hand had no descent capsule, so she burned up along with the
satellite as it returned to the Earth's atmosphere. A plaque commemorating the
contributions of Laika and other animals that were studied in the space program
was unveiled in late 1997 at the Institute for Aviation and Space Medicine in
Moscow.
From the BBC News Online 31
October 2002
By Dr David Whitehouse
BBC News Online science editor
The dog Laika, the first living creature to orbit the Earth on a one-way trip
onboard Sputnik 2 in November 1957, did not live nearly as long as Soviet
officials led the world to believe. Soviet officials had said she died
painlessly in orbit about a week after launch, but new information just released
says she died from overheating and panic just a few hours after the mission
started.
The new evidence was revealed at the recent World Space Congress in Houston by
Dimitri Malashenkov of the Institute for Biological problems in Moscow. Noted
space historian Sven Grahn told BBC News Online that the new information was
surprising and significant as it ends more than 40 years of speculation about
Laika's fate.
An astonished world witnessed the launch of Sputnik 2 weighing 113 kg (250 lbs)
and carrying the first living thing to go into orbit, the dog Laika. It was a
metal sphere weighing about 18 kg (40 lbs) and was far heavier than anything the
United States was contemplating launching.
Laika had been a stray wandering the streets of Moscow when she was captured and
prepared for a space mission. Shortly after launch the Soviets said that Laika
was not destined to return alive and would die in space. The statement caused
outrage to many observers.
Dr Malashenkov has now revealed several new details about Laika's mission such
as her food being in jelly form and that she was chained to prevent her turning
around. There was a carbon dioxide absorbing device in the cabin to prevent the
accumulation of this toxic gas as well as an oxygen generator. A fan was
automatically activated to keep the dog cool when the capsule's temperature
exceeded 15 deg C.
According to Dr Malashenkov a great deal of work had to be done to adapt a group
of dogs to the conditions in the tight cabin of Sputnik 2. They were kept in
gradually smaller cages for periods up to 15-20 days. Three dogs were trained
for the Sputnik 2 flight: Albina, Laika and Mushka. Albina was the first
'backup' having flown twice on a high altitude rocket. Mushka was used to test
instrumentation and life support.
Medical sensors placed on Laika indicated that during launch her pulse rate went
up by a factor of three above its resting level. At the start of weightlessness
her pulse rate decreased. It took three times longer than after a centrifuge
ride on the ground to return Laika's heartbeat to pre-launch values, an
indication of the stress she was suffering
Dr Malashenkov also revealed how Laika died. Telemetry from the Sputnik 2
capsule showed that the temperature and humidity increased after the start of
the mission. After five to seven hours into the flight, no life signs were being
received from Laika. By the fourth orbit it was apparent that Laika had died
from overheating and stress. Previously, it has been thought that Laika survived
at least four days in space and perhaps even a week when Sputnik's transmitters
failed.
Despite surviving for just a few hours, Laika's place in space history is
assured and the information she provided proved that a living organism could
tolerate a long time in weightlessness and paved the way for humans in space.
Laika's coffin circled the Earth 2570 times and burned up in the Earth's
atmosphere on 4 April 1958.
LASSIE
The first Lassie starred in the 1942 movie 'Lassie Come
Home'. Lassie has given us a more modern view of dogs than 'The Hound of the
Baskervilles' did.
Le DIABLE
A notorious French dog that smuggled lace and other costly
items across the French border under a false skin dyed various colors by its
owners to baffle the customs guards.
NIPPER
The faithful dog sitting in front of the gramophone listening
to His Master's Voice.
PLUTO (Animation)
Possibly the most famous animated
cartoon character in film history, Mickey Mouse, was created in 1927 as Mortimer
Mouse by Walt DISNEY'S partner and fellow animator Ub Iwerks. Renamed Mickey,
the following year, the mouse starred in the first sound cartoon "Steamboat
Willie," with Disney himself providing the character's voice. Mickey was
subsequently featured in dozens of shorts and, along with other such characters
as Donald Duck and Pluto the Dog, became an international celebrity.
RIN TIN TIN
A German shepherd who ranked as one of the all-time famous
canine movie stars. "Rinty" was in 19 movies before its death in 1932.
In September 1918, as World War I was drawing to a close, a man named
Corporal Lee Duncan, came across an abandoned German war dog station while out
on a scouting mission. Inside, left to fend for herself, a mother German
shepherd kept a vigilant watch over her five puppies. Unable to let the
dogs perish, Duncan and the other members of his group gathered up the dogs and
brought them back to their hangar where they provided them with food and
shelter.
When it was time to return to the states, Duncan brought back two of the
puppies, which he named Nannette and Rin Tin Tin, the latter after the small
dolls French soldiers used to carry with them for good luck.
The name proved to be prophetic, for soon after their return, Lee Duncan and
Rin Tin Tin embarked on a movie career that would propel the dog to
super-stardom.
In 1922, Rin Tin Tin, or "Rinty" as he came to be called, made his
debut in the Western Pictures movie "The Man from Hell's River."
Rinty's spunk, talent and fearless ability to perform dramatic stunts drew the
attention of Warner Brothers who put the canine under contract in 1923.
This relationship with Warner Brothers resulted in 24 films that not only helped
establish the new studio, but also made Rin Tin Tin a household name.
During this golden age the benefits of celebrity came to Rinty in the form a
$1000 a week salary, and, among other things, his own production unit, a
chauffeur driven limousine, a personal chef and a diamond studded collar.
Although the real Nannette died of pneumonia years earlier, Rin Tin Tin was
paired with and later "married" a female shepherd named Nannette,
which drew the attention of the world press. The pair, together with their
offspring Rin Tin Tin Jr. would later appear together in both films and serials.
Rin Tin Tin's association with Warner Brothers ended after the film
"Rough Waters" was released in 1930. After being released from
the studio, Rin Tin Tin continued working on low budget serials for Mascot
pictures until finally, after over 40 movies, he retired in 1931.
The original Rin Tin Tin then died at his home a year later at the age of 14
(98 in dog years) while playing with Lee Duncan.
REFUS
From the movie Legally Blonde (her real name is Lily)
SAUR
or SUENING
A dog that was "king" of Norway for three years
during the 11th century AD. The Norwegian king, angry that his subjects once
deposed him, put Saur on the throne and demanded that it be treated regally.
SOTER
The only one of 50 watchdogs of ancient Greece that alone survived
attack by invaders and ran to the gates of Corinth to warn the citizens.
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