A Lucky Dog: Owney, U.S. Rail Mail Mascot

Owney was a friend of the mail. He loved the smell of railroad mail bags. He slept on them and rode with them to the train station in Albany, New York. One day he got a chance to ride a Mail Train. That was the beginning of Owney's travels on Mail Trains all over the country and his chance to make hundreds of new friends.

As he traveled, "baggage tags" were fixed to his collar by faraway Post Offices. Then, U.S. Postmaster General John Wanamaker presented Owney with a special blanket for all his "baggage tags".

Toward the end of his career, Owney traveled on mail boats and trains around the world. Owney was one Lucky Dog!