Helen Keller's Dogs

[Mosby]

http://www.pinterest.com/perkinsarchives/helen-kellers-dogs/


Helen had lived with dogs in her parents home and had had a Cocker Spaniel as a young girl, but she became the guardian of her own dog in 1902 when she was given a Boston Bull Terrier, the proto-type of today's Boston Terrier breed.

The dog was a gift from Helen's friends at Radcliffe College. Sir Thomas was known to have a particularly sweet and calm temperament which probably made him an adept informal service dog. He regularly accompanied his mistress to lectures and would wait patiently until class was over and then accompany her back home.

As close as she was to Thomas, Helen Keller's real canine love came later in her life. In the 1930s when Keller was in her fifties she visited Japan on a speaking tour. Keller had great regard for Japanese culture and was very popular on her visit. While in Japan she heard the story of Hachiko, the famously loyal Akita. Keller expressed interest in getting an Akita of her own and before she left the country she was gifted a young Akita pup, named Kamikaze-Go. Sadly, the dog passed away at the age of 7 1/2 months from distemper. Keller was devastated. Hearing of her heart break the Japanese government arranged for her to receive another Akita pup, Kenzan-Go, the younger brother of Kamikaze. Go-Go as Keller called him was a loyal companion and a source of endless delight to her until the end of his days. Through the two dogs Keller introduced the Akita breed to the United States. She called her Akita companions "angels in fur."

http://urbanhounds-tubby5dog.blogspot.com/2012/03/womens-history-month-famous-women-and.html#.UmguX1P25gg

[alsame]

1. "Angels in Fur"

How very true.

[LisaLynne]

2. thank you for posting this!

I had never heard that Ms. Keller had dogs!

[TorchTheWitch]

3. She was a huge dog lover

I already knew this story since I'm a huge Akita fan and am now on my third one. Her own words in describing her devastation on the death of her first Akita, Kamikaze-go, was apparently what moved the Japanese to not only gift her another Akita but also to make him an official gift of the Japanese government. She gave lectures with her dog at her side, and I think most of the photos taken of her show her with one of her dogs. She was actually rarely seen without whichever dog she had at the time.

This is a letter that she wrote to the previous owner of Kenzan-go, the Akita she was gifted after the first one died...

http://www.theincredibledog.com/site/articlefiles/20-Keller%20Letter,%201940,%202.jpg

And this is what she wrote in the Akita Journal about her first Akita, Kamakazi-Go...

"If ever there was an angel in fur, it was Kamikaze. I know I shall never feel quite the same tenderness for any other pet. The Akita dog has all the qualities that appeal to me – he is gentle, companionable and trusty."

I had no idea she had lived so long. She died when she was 88 years old.

[CountAllVotes]

4. What a beautiful story!

Thanks for sharing this with us!

& recommend!!

[Ratty]

5. This was a crossword puzzle question a couple of days ago

Question was something like "Helen Keller brought the first one to the US." I was completely stumped and it wasn't until the very end, when faced with "A_ITA" that I figured it out.