Dave: Annie Oakley's Wonder Dog

The famous Annie Oakley was so confident of her sharpshooting skills that she included her beloved dog Dave in her acts.

Annie Oakley and Dave

Annie Oakley began shooting and hunting at an early age to help put food on the table for her impoverished family. She used an old muzzle-loading gun that belonged to her deceased father, and was so good at shooting that she was able to help provide a living for her family. According to her, she seemed "to have been born with shooting skill."

Annie's reputation as a shooter spread, and at the age of 15, she entered a shooting competition with a traveling marksman named Frank Butler - Frank hit 24 out of 25 targets, and Annie hit all 25. The two fell for each other, married and began performing together.

Annie and Frank never had children, but they were devoted to their dogs, including their English Setter Dave who was part of their act. Dave would sit obediently with an apple on his head and Annie would shoot the apple without harming the dog. During WWI, when Annie performed, Dave would go into the audience and successfully sniff out cash donations that were hidden in handkerchiefs to help the Red Cross. His talent helped raise more than $1600, and his fame grew so much that, according to one report, he was "scarcely less known than his mistress."

In 1922, at the age of 62, Annie broke her hip and ankle in a car accident. She endured a long period of rehabilitation and had to wear a leg brace for the rest of her life. Sadly, three and a half months after the car accident, Dave was hit by a passing car and died. Annie and Frank were heartbroken. The local newspaper reported that the grieving couple felt the pain of Dave's death as "parents would feel the loss of a child." Frank wrote "Dave was more than some humans. He sat for weeks watching faithfully by the bedside of his mistress and would snuggle close, tapping gently with his little paw, his big eyes burning with love... Dave awaits us both in the Happy Hunting Ground."

Despite doctors doubting Annie would ever shoot again, she continued to set records before passing in 1925 at the age of 66.

Don the Talking Dog

This hunting dog became famous in the early 1900s as Don the Talking Dog.

Don the Talking Dog

Don was owned by Martin Ebers in Theerhutte, Germany. Unlike Alexander Graham Bell who taught his dog Trouve to talk (to help benefit the deaf), Don reportedly began to talk on his own accord when he was six months old. It was in 1905, at the supper table when Ebers asked him "You want something don't you?" and Don responded "Haben" (have in English). Ebers wasn't sure if he heard his dog correctly, so he asked again. Don replied "Haben".

His vocabulary eventually reached eight words, including his name Don, kuchen (cake), hunger (same word in English and German), ja (yes), nein (no), ruhe (quiet) and Haberland (I believe this is the name of Eber's fiance). Although he spoke mostly one word at a time, he was able to form simple sentences like "Don hunger, have cake".

After Don became a well-known performer in Germany, he and his owner traveled to the US in 1912. Don quickly became popular, and ended up making a lot of money from shows and as a celebrity endorser for Milk-Bone dog biscuits. While in the US, not only did he entertain, he was credited for saving a man from drowning at Brighton Beach. After a couple of years of touring the country, Don and Ebers returned to Germany where the famous dog retired. Don passed away in 1915.

According to news articles, "Don, the talking dog, has entered upon a stage career after a number of the most eminent zoologists in Germany have subjected him to thorough examination and pronounced him a genuine prodigy."

However, according to a University of Berlin professor who had also examined Don, "the speech of Don is... to be regarded properly as the production of sounds which produce illusions in the hearer."

Napoleon: G. Van Hare's Circus Dog

Napoleon, a large black Newfoundland, belonged to G. Van Hare, the ultimate showman of the 1800s. He was handsome, smart and talented.

G. Van Hare bought Napoleon in 1857 when the dog was a year old. The two formed a deep bond, and a few years later, Napoleon was the star attraction in Van Hare's Magic Circus. Supposedly, Napoleon was so smart, he only had to be shown how to do a trick once before learning it. His tricks varied, from spelling names and playing cards to jumping through balloon hoops and dancing to music. His first performance was at London's Pavilion Theatre in 1862. Napoleon quickly became popular, and his circus acts continued throughout Europe until his death in 1868 from an accident during a performance. Van Hare was heartbroken, later stating "This was the greatest bereavement I had ever experienced through life, he having been my constant and inseparable companion... He was the most noble, sagacious and affectionate of animals, and a universal favourite in every country he visited."

Bobby: Houdini's Magical Dog

Not only did Bobby belong to Houdini, he would perform with the famous magician doing some tricks of his own.

Bobby and Houdini

Harry Houdini's wife Bess bought Bobby from the owner of a Harlem butcher shop when he wouldn't allow her to give the dog a bone. Houdini taught the fox terrier how to escape from ropes, handcuffs and straitjackets that were specially made to fit him. Bobby performed with Houdini a few times. In 1918, his escape act headlined at the 14th Annual Society of American Magicians dinner. He was known as the "Only Handcuff King Dog in the World." Bobby could also perform card tricks and do somersaults. According to Houdini, Bobby was "a wonderful card dog" and "the greatest somersault dog that ever lived." Bobby died on December 15, 1918. The Houdini's had their beloved dog for eight years.