First there was Steverino and then there was Lady Greyhound who bought much attention to the Greyhound bus company around the 1960s.
The company first began in 1914 and adopted the Greyhound name in 1929. The name came about when one of the drivers saw the reflection of his bus in a store window, reminding him of a greyhound dog. The running dog logo came out at that time, and its mascot didn't appear until 1957.
The future Greyhound mascot was born a pure bred but because she was a high-strung, nervous female she was not destined for the race track. Instead, she was sold to the bus-line. The first Greyhound TV commercial appeared during the Steve Allen show and their mascot was dubbed Steverino (Greyhound was the first transportation company to sponsor shows on television.) The 10 pound puppy quickly became famous and ended up with over 500,000 members in her fan clubs. After Greyhound ended their sponshorship of the Steve Allen show in the early 1960s, Steverino (Stevo) was renamed Lady Greyhound to the public. This announcement was made during a Jack Benny show.
Lady Greyhound, who was insured for $300,000, continued to travel across the country. She would make appearances at charity events and help inaugurate new bus terminals by biting through a ribbon of dog biscuits. Fifteen hundred people showed up at Detroit's opening to see Lady Greyhound and get her pawtograph. The famous dog made an appearance at the White House, was a regular guest on TV shows and even posed with Miss Universe Beauty Pageant contestants. She was great with the public and knew to freeze into a pose whenever she saw a photographer.
When Lady Greyhound traveled, she mostly went by charter-jet that included her own personal seat with safety belts because Greyhound had a rule against dogs. However, when the bus was not being operated publicly, she could ride on it. Wherever she traveled, she was to have the best accommodations possible. In addition, she was to get two hours of exercise every day and work for no more than an hour at a time.
Steverino retired in 1966 and two other greyhounds portrayed her until the ad campaign ended in 1970. Lorraine D'Essen of Animal Talent Scouts, who trained and cared for Lady Greyhound, kept Stevo after she retired. About a year before her retirement, Stevo gave birth to a litter of nine puppies. All the puppies were given away on Linkletter's TV show People are Funny to Brownies and Cub Scouts.
