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Dalmations and US Firemen

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Captain Fertile
Why do American Fire Stations in the US always seem to have a Dalmation dog?

Whenever a firestation is featured in a TV show or a movie a dalmation seems to be part of the team – not any other breed, it is either a dalmation or nothing.

My son received a gift containing fire station stickers and there in amongst them all was a dalmation sticker.

It is even featured in the script of Die Hard;

John McClane (As fire trucks approach the building): “C'mon baby, come ta' papa, I'll kiss ya' f***in' Dalmatian!”

I tried Google (I really need to get a life) but found no info.

Anyone got the answer?
Lady_Star
I'm not sure how it got started but for as long as I can remember Dalmations have always been associated with the Fire Stations here in the US. You might try searching Sparky the Fire Dog on Google. It seems to me when I was a kid that was the name of the Dalmation that was being widely used but I don't remember for sure. At least it might give you somewhere to start... Smile

We have a Dalmation and she is just awesome though I can't imagine her going out and fighting fires... Laughing

I just asked my 16yr old daughter if she by chance knew and this was her answer...
Quote:
Because they howl when the fire truck makes the noise and their howl is loud, so it can be heard really well... I think... Why?


Now if that has any validity or not I don' tknow but it sounded good... Very Happy
hlavco
From Wikipedia:
Quote:
Why do we associate Dalmatians with firemen?

Particularly in the United States, the use of Dalmatians as carriage dogs was transferred to horse-drawn fire engines, although it is unclear why this link was not made in other countries. Today the Dalmatian serves as a fire house mascot, but back in the days of horse-drawn fire carts, they provided a valuable service. Dalmatians and horses are very compatible, so the dogs were easily trained to run in front of the engines to help clear a path and quickly guide the horses and firefighters to the fires and sometimes used as rescue dogs to locate victims in burning structures. Dalmatians are also known to make good watchdogs and it is believed that Dalmatians may have been useful to fire brigades as guard dogs to protect a firehouse and its equipment. Fire engines used to be drawn by fast and powerful horses, a tempting target for thieves. So, Dalmatians were kept in the firehouse as deterrence to theft. The horses have long since gone, but the Dalmatians, by tradition, have stayed. As a result, in the U.S., Dalmatians are commonly known as firehouse dogs. Dalmatians are still chosen by many firefighters as pets, in honor of their heroism in the past.

The Dalmatian is also associated, particularly in the United States, with Budweiser beer and the Busch Gardens theme parks, since the Anheuser-Busch company's iconic beer wagon, drawn by a team of magnificent Clydesdale horses, is always accompanied by a Dalmatian carriage dog. The giga-brewer maintains several teams at various locations, which tour extensively. According to Anheuser-Busch's website, Dalmatians were historically used by brewers to guard the wagon while the driver was making deliveries.
Captain Fertile
Thanks for that guys. It is a ton more informstion than I was ever able to dig up about it.

It seems that its just one of those things that happens in life that everone takes for granted and yet has no idea why it is so.

Thanks for taking the time to help me out guys. Applause
thealpha
i agree
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