Owney the Traveling Dog

An explanation of the project

The project started in 1996 when my class read Owney the Traveling Dog, by Lynn Hall (1977) in our literature text. This story is about a real puppy that was found in Albany, NY in 1888. The puppy was adopted by postal workers, and it lived at the post office. They named him Owney and gave him a mail sack to sleep on. One day, Owney's sack-bed was needed for the mail. Owney followed the scent when the sack was put on a train. Owney got on the train and traveled to the next station where he was found and returned to Albany. Well, that dog must have liked traveling because he continued to get on trains and traveled all over the US.
When Owney died, his body was preserved and is on display at the National Postal Museum.

The current project involves a teacher and class from each state who hosts a stuffed dog we also name Owney, as he travels around the US by mail. Each class writes facts about their state on postcards and mails them to the other classes to let them know Owney arrived. The class will also send me a paragraph or two by e-mail to be added to Owney's journal. Project ideas and lesson extensions are available, but nothing more is required.

I am turning the project leadership over to Rosemarie Granger. As of July 26, 2007, she is awaiting a special internet account just for the Owney project. When that is finalized, she will contact with the participants from 06-07 to see if they would like to continue with the project. If you would like to join the project, you can email me and I will forward your message on to her.

Thank you!

The Basics

1. Collect postcards for the other participating classes and prepare to mail them.
2. Get ready to have Owney visit your class.
3. Write a letter to the president and add it to Owney's box.

a. I am always trying to have every class receive a letter from the president. It seems to have worked, as many of the classes received letters.

4. Mail Owney to keep him on schedule.

5. Send an e-mail to Bev Adams to share the news from Owney.

a. The news from Owney is forwarded to the other teachers.

b. It’s posted in the journal on the web page.

i. Photos of Owney and/or your school can be posted.

ii. A link to your school’s website can be posted.

iii. Photos of students will not be posted.

c. The e-mail news alerts the next teacher that Owney is on the way.

d. This is a great opportunity to share what makes your state special.

6. Mail the postcards as soon as possible.

a. This is another opportunity to share what makes your state special.

b. The most prevalent complaint is that classes did not receive a postcard from every participating class. Please make sure you keep this basic commitment.

I have always been amazed that it takes a full school year to visit all 50 states. I have carefully planned the schedule, skipping holidays, two weeks at the end of December, and one week in the spring. Please do what you can to keep Owney on schedule so that every class gets to visit with Owney.

The schedule depends on each participant. I have no control over how fast he travels. Typically, the first few teachers keep Owney moving, then people must think, “We’ve got all year!” We all get busy around report card time and the holidays. Owney seems to slow down. It’s tempting to keep Owney for just one extra day. If each person kept Owney for one extra day, Owney would be nearly 2 months overdue and it would be too late for the last schools. Owney really needs to keep up the speed all year long for both groups. If everyone keeps to these guidelines, Owney can make it to all the participants and to the White House in one school year. We are all counting on you to get Owney to the next school on time.

If you remember to contact the next teacher, they will have more time to prepare for Owney’s visit. Please make sure you check your e-mails for the most current itinerary or Owney will need to backtrack so he doesn’t miss anyone.