Charlie: Played a Part in Preventing a Nuclear War

Charlie helped calm John F. Kennedy during a difficult time when the country feared a nuclear war.

JFK and Charlie

Cuba's president Fidel Castro feared the US was going to invade his country so he sought assistance from the Soviet Union. In May 1962, the Soviet Union began to ship nuclear missiles to Cuba. This led to the Cuban Missile Crisis, a 13-day confrontation (October 16 to 28) between the governments of the US and the Soviet Union. An agreement was reached between Kennedy and Khrushchev - Cuba agreed to remove its missiles and the US agreed not to invade Cuba.

JFK had nine dogs while in the White House. He loved them all, but according to multiple sources, Charlie (a Welsh terrier) was his favorite. During those 13 stressful days at critical meetings, Charlie would lay on his master's lap. After petting his dog for a while, the president relaxed. According to the White House kennel keeper, he was to come get Charlie as Kennedy calmly said, "I suppose that it's time to make some decisions."

Research has shown that simply petting a dog lowers levels of cortisol (a stress-related hormone) and decreases blood pressure. Thanks to Charlie, the president of the United States was able to remain calm while making an important decision to prevent a nuclear war.

Ashley Whippet: First Notable Disc Dog

Ashley Whippet was not the first dog to catch a flying disc (frisbee), but he did help popularize the sport.

Alex Stein and Ashley Whippet

On August 5, 1974, 19-year-old Alex Stein smuggled his dog Ashley Whippet into Dodger Stadium where the baseball game between the LA Dodgers and the Cincinnati Reds were being televised nationally. During the seventh inning stretch, Stein jumped over the infield wall and went onto the field (uninvited) with Ashley where he threw discs for his dog to catch. The crowd was amazed with Ashley's ability to run up to 35 mph and leap up to nine feet in the air to catch the discs. The two performed for eight minutes before Stein was escorted off the field and arrested.

Stein, Irv Lander (a consultant to Wham-O - the maker of the Frisbee) and Eldon McIntire (a dog trainer and a frisbee enthusiast) organized the first Frisbee Dog World Championship in 1975. Stein and Ashley won the first three championships in 1975, 1976 and 1977. In the early 1980s, the competition series was renamed the Ashley Whippet Invitational in honor of Ashley.

Ashley died in Stein's arms in March 1985 of natural causes at age 13. Sports Illustrated eulogized him.