The skeleton of a sea dog was found during the excavation of the Mary Rose, a warship of King Henry VIII's fleet that sank during the Battle of the Solent on July 19, 1545.
The wreck of the Mary Rose was located in 1971. During the underwater excavation, a well-preserved skeleton of the ship's dog was discovered in 1981. Because the skeleton was found near a sliding hatch door, the research team named the dog Hatch. According to DNA, Hatch was a male and between 1 1/2 to 2 years old. The testing also suggested he shared many genetic characteristics with the modern breed of Jack Russell. Other characteristics showed he was most likely a cross-breed with a whippet, but with a long and curly brown coat.
During the time of the Mary Rose, cats were believed to bring bad luck, so Hatch was on board to kill rodents. He apparently did a very good job because no complete rat skeletons were found during the excavations.
The hull of the Mary Rose was raised in 1982 - it, many artifacts and Hatch's skeleton are on display in the Mary Rose Museum in Portsmouth, England.
