Pit bull mix in art: from Petey to Sergeant Stubby

Part 1

What counts as a pit bull mix in old photographs and films

Even a single famous dog could carry more than one official breed name. Pal, the first dog to play Petey, was registered as an American Pit Bull Terrier. His son and successor in the role, Lucenay's Peter, was dual-registered as an American Pit Bull Terrier and an American Staffordshire Terrier. The American Kennel Club had recognized the American Pit Bull Terrier, then changed the registered name to American Staffordshire Terrier in 1935. So if you trace the paperwork behind this screen role, you find two breed names attached to the dogs who played it.

Part 2

Tige and the Buster Brown series

Before he became Petey, Pal had already appeared on screen as Tige in the Buster Brown series of silent comedies. That series used a partial ring around Pal's eye and completed it with dye, which made the circle permanent. Pal also appeared in other films of the period, including Harold Lloyd's The Freshman.

Part 3

Petey, the dog with the ring around his eye

Petey starred in Hal Roach's Our Gang comedies, later known as The Little Rascals, with the series running from 1922 and adding a dog from 1927. Pal the Wonder Dog made his debut as Petey in The Glorious Fourth, released on June 26, 1927. Hal Roach Studios signed him to a three-year contract starting at 125 dollars a week, making him the second-highest paid actor in the series. Pal's last appearance was in A Tough Winter, released June 21, 1930, and he died soon after, poisoned by tainted meat.

After Pal's death, his trainer Harry Lucenay used one of Pal's sons, Lucenay's Peter, to take over the role. Lucenay's Peter lacked his father's natural ring, so Hollywood makeup artist Max Factor painted one around his other eye. He played Petey from 1930 until 1932, when Lucenay was fired from the studio after The Pooch was released. Other, unrelated dogs then played the role until the series ended in the late 1930s.

1. Pal the Wonder Dog played Petey from 1927 until 1930, when he died after being poisoned.
2. Lucenay's Peter, Pal's son, played Petey from 1930 to 1932 and lived until 1946.
3. Several other, unrelated dogs played the role from 1932 until the series ended in the late 1930s.

In the films, Petey is seen as a nanny dog, protecting and entertaining the children of the cast. Harry Lucenay's son Ted, who grew up with the second Petey, remembered him simply as a gentle, playful, and warm family dog who slept at the foot of his bed. If you have ever watched an old family dog settle in among children, that same calm presence is what made Petey easy to love on screen.

Part 4

Why the record about Petey is often confused

Writers who have tried to pin down Petey's story often disagree on details. Some images of Petey are reversed negatives. Multiple dogs with slightly different markings played the role at once, and continuity was not a big concern for directors at the time. Even Petey's final resting place is disputed among the people who have researched him.

Part 5

Sergeant Stubby, a decorated dog in wartime pictures and newsprint

Stubby was described in his own time as a dog of uncertain breed, a brindle-patterned mutt with ties to the Boston Terrier and bull terrier lines. He was found wandering the Yale University campus in 1917 and was smuggled aboard a troop ship to France by Corporal James Robert Conroy. Stubby served 18 months on the Western Front, took part in 17 battles, was wounded, and received a gold medal, a wound stripe, and two Purple Hearts. After the war he became a celebrity, appeared in a famous photograph and other artistic media, and his preserved body is now displayed at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History. You can picture how striking that image must have been to readers who had just lived through the war.

Part 6

Why these dogs still interest you today

Petey was cast as a loyal companion to children, while Stubby was honored for finding wounded soldiers and warning his unit of danger. If your own dog has a marking or a mixed look that makes it instantly recognizable, that same visual quality is part of what drew attention to these dogs a century ago.