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Dogs Who Changed the World
50 awe-inspiring stories of dogs that have altered history, inspired art and literature, reunited lost lovers, saved lives, or just ruined everything. These inspiring, humorous, heart-breaking, or just plain weird stories reveal why dogs have earned their place as our greatest companions, and how our fascination with them is age-old.
Meet big Barry, the hefty St. Bernard credited with saving the lives of more than 40 people lost in the Swiss Alps in the 1800s.
Gangster mongrel Pecas lived his life with a notorious Colombian drug cartel, before flipping the script after he was seized along with copious amounts of cocaine, and re-training as a police dog.
Marie Antoinette’s sassy little Papillon, Coco, was the true star of the French court.
Sigmund Freud’s calm-inducing Chow Chow, Jofi who would sit in on all his therapy sessions (and never spilled a secret)
Small in size, huge in stature, little Sargeant Stubby was the mixed bully breed war hero, an integral part of WWI war effort. Saving lives in the trenches, Stubby found soldiers trapped under rubble and even caught a spy.
Japan’s national hero Hachiko, famous for waiting for his dear departed owner at Shibuya Central Station, becoming a much-loved local and national celebrity.
And Sir Isaac Newton’s little terror Diamond, who knocked over a candle, destroying one of the physicist’s most important manuscripts.
Dogs That Changed the World celebrates the unique relationship we have with our canine best friends, from contemporary times to all throughout history.
Meet big Barry, the hefty St. Bernard credited with saving the lives of more than 40 people lost in the Swiss Alps in the 1800s.
Gangster mongrel Pecas lived his life with a notorious Colombian drug cartel, before flipping the script after he was seized along with copious amounts of cocaine, and re-training as a police dog.
Marie Antoinette’s sassy little Papillon, Coco, was the true star of the French court.
Sigmund Freud’s calm-inducing Chow Chow, Jofi who would sit in on all his therapy sessions (and never spilled a secret)
Small in size, huge in stature, little Sargeant Stubby was the mixed bully breed war hero, an integral part of WWI war effort. Saving lives in the trenches, Stubby found soldiers trapped under rubble and even caught a spy.
Japan’s national hero Hachiko, famous for waiting for his dear departed owner at Shibuya Central Station, becoming a much-loved local and national celebrity.
And Sir Isaac Newton’s little terror Diamond, who knocked over a candle, destroying one of the physicist’s most important manuscripts.
Dogs That Changed the World celebrates the unique relationship we have with our canine best friends, from contemporary times to all throughout history.
- GenresNonfictionAnimals
160 pages, Hardcover
Published June 14, 2022
4 people are currently reading
87 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
December 15, 2023
I grabbed this one on the way out of the library the other day, simply because, it has the word DOGS on the cover.
This book devotes a page or two to fifty puppers who have “Changed the World.” This pupisode of dog history contained a number of interesting stories on famous dogs like The Baskerville Hound & Rin Tin Tin and forty-eight other less well-known canines, many of them not real – coming from fables, legends, and the like. Some stories were interesting, one or two tugged on the heart strings, many were skippable. No room for Lassie though?
Each story was accompanied by artwork, which wasn’t that impressive. But to be fair, the author here seems to have a few other “…………., who changed the world” books, and this visual style seems to be the theme. I would prefer photos. However, it’s probably not that type of book. It’s one for sitting on a coffee table (or in my case the toilet, not in it, in the room) requiring the occasional ‘flick through’ rather than to be read like a novel.
However, it’s a hardcover, looks nice and is worthy of consideration for all of us dog lovers.
3 Stars
PUPDATE!!! It’s 7am here and I have just come down to the kitchen/lounge area to greet the two sausages and one big pup to find a pool of wee the size of Lake Michigan in the kitchen and a little turd under the dining room table (It's Meg's because of the dimensions - I spent 35 years working with poo). So, at the moment I have three very sheepish dogs (they’re not referred to as PUPs at the moment) skulking around the place looking at me sideways.
Tropical pups chillin' after Dad has been scrubbing floors and swearing
This book devotes a page or two to fifty puppers who have “Changed the World.” This pupisode of dog history contained a number of interesting stories on famous dogs like The Baskerville Hound & Rin Tin Tin and forty-eight other less well-known canines, many of them not real – coming from fables, legends, and the like. Some stories were interesting, one or two tugged on the heart strings, many were skippable. No room for Lassie though?
Each story was accompanied by artwork, which wasn’t that impressive. But to be fair, the author here seems to have a few other “…………., who changed the world” books, and this visual style seems to be the theme. I would prefer photos. However, it’s probably not that type of book. It’s one for sitting on a coffee table (or in my case the toilet, not in it, in the room) requiring the occasional ‘flick through’ rather than to be read like a novel.
However, it’s a hardcover, looks nice and is worthy of consideration for all of us dog lovers.
3 Stars
PUPDATE!!! It’s 7am here and I have just come down to the kitchen/lounge area to greet the two sausages and one big pup to find a pool of wee the size of Lake Michigan in the kitchen and a little turd under the dining room table (It's Meg's because of the dimensions - I spent 35 years working with poo). So, at the moment I have three very sheepish dogs (they’re not referred to as PUPs at the moment) skulking around the place looking at me sideways.
Tropical pups chillin' after Dad has been scrubbing floors and swearing
December 24, 2023
Cute, lots of interesting facts. The images are beautiful and I found the formatting appealing. However, the pick of the 50 « stories » is very subjective. I didn’t care for a good 30% of them. Knowing about dog fashion icons, social media influencers, Tiktok stars, etc. is just not for me.
February 5, 2023
This is a picture book about dogs for adults. There’s lots of cool facts about these historically famous dogs, including some details of abuse and torture. I wouldn’t call this essential reading by any means but it’s a great gift for a dog lover. The hardcover edition is brilliantly produced and bound.
September 15, 2023
This book was a fun read for dog lovers; however, the chapter "David, Billy & Colette" had a definite human agenda, with very little connection to canines, and was difficult to follow. Also, Owney died in 1897, not 1987. I realize editing errors occur, but that's where editors are supposed to do their jobs.
October 19, 2022
The stories on the supposed heroic and loving deeds of dogs was interesting, but while I found the Instagram influencer cute, they weren’t as fun to read about.
December 31, 2024
It was fun to read about real and fictional dogs that made the book. Quick, easy stories.
September 9, 2025
Fun and interesting stories. A wide variety of dogs and personalities. A book worth revisiting again and again throughout the years.
January 13, 2024
Oh my heart, honestly.
Love, love, love, LOVE this.
Why haven't more people read this?
Love, love, love, LOVE this.
Why haven't more people read this?
April 14, 2024
the good bois encyclopedia.
May 5, 2023
A neat collection of short chapters on various influential dogs throughout history, such as Hachiko, Balto, Togo, Laika, Rin Tin Tin, etc. It's a cute and simple book and it works! My only real gripes would be the sometimes very rough and inaccurate illustrations (e.g. Hachi in the book not looking at all like how the real dog looked) and that some of these dogs didn't exactly "change the world", at least not to me. While these dogs were definitely influential, it feels a bit weird to put "influencer" and photo model dogs on the same list as dogs who saved literal lives and such.
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
Full review at: https://skybookcorner.blogspot.com/20...
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews