Need a stamp? This Wednesday (July 27) is the First Day of Issue for a beautiful new stamp of a most awesome dog from the late 1800s. Owney, a scruffy terrier, became a national legend and the canine mascot of the Railway Mail Service during his travels across the United States by rail, and then to Mexico, Canada, Europe and Asia. He had a thing for mailbags, and followed the mail wherever it went around the country. You can read more about this great traveling dog in this Journal-Sentinel article.
The real Owney – or a newly spiffed-up taxidermy version of him – will be on display at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Postal Museum in Washington, D.C. starting July 27. I will be in Washington D.C. later this week for a research trip for my upcoming book, Soldier Dogs, and may try to stop by and see the Owney and get you some pics.
Will you be heading to the post office to buy this stamp? (Do you even use stamps any more?!) I don’t use many stamps these days, but I’ll definitely be buying some of these.
