Dogs on the Titanic: the true story of the ship's canine passengers
See the real story – guest starring your dog.
If you have ever wondered whether dogs were on the Titanic with you in mind as a fellow dog lover, the answer is yes. The ship carried at least twelve dogs, and only three of them survived. Most belonged to first-class passengers, and the ship even had its own kennel with a carpenter in charge of the dogs' welfare. Their stories, some verified and some legend, tell you a lot about the voyage itself.
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The story in 5 parts
A short version first. The full story, with every detail, is further down.
Part 1
How many dogs were on board and who they belonged to
Sources agree that at least twelve dogs sailed on the Titanic, though there may have been more that were never recorded.
Part 2
Which dogs survived and how
Three dogs survived the sinking, and all three were small.
Part 3
The dogs that did not make it
Most of the dogs on board did not survive, and nearly all of them were larger breeds kept in the kennel rather than in a cabin.
Part 4
What the ship's dog show reveals about the voyage
The dog owners aboard had planned an informal dog show for the morning of April 15, the very day the Titanic sank.
Part 5
Separating fact from popular legend
Two stories about Titanic dogs are considered myths, not supported by evidence.
Read the full story
Part 1
How many dogs were on board and who they belonged to
Sources agree that at least twelve dogs sailed on the Titanic, though there may have been more that were never recorded. Most of the owners were Americans traveling first class, and the fare for a dog was as expensive as a child's ticket. Named dogs included Lady the Pomeranian owned by Margaret Hays, Sun Yat Sen the Pekingese owned by Henry and Myra Harper, and another Pomeranian belonging to Elizabeth Rothschild. If you keep a small dog yourself, you can picture how easily one could be carried close, the way these two Pomeranians and a Pekingese were.
The ship's kennels were on the boat deck, and the dogs kept there were exercised daily by a steward or a bellboy. A few first-class passengers kept their dogs in their cabins instead, probably without the crew's full knowledge, or with the crew choosing to look the other way. Helen Bishop's small dog stayed in her cabin because stewards thought it too pretty to place with the larger dogs in the kennels.
Part 2
Which dogs survived and how
Three dogs survived the sinking, and all three were small. They were Lady the Pomeranian, owned by Margaret Hays, the unnamed Pomeranian owned by Elizabeth Rothschild, and Sun Yat Sen the Pekingese, owned by Henry and Myra Harper. All three had been kept in their owners' staterooms rather than in the kennel, which put them close at hand when the lifeboats were loaded. Their owners carried them into the lifeboats, likely wrapped in a blanket or tucked under a coat.
Passenger accounts back this up in detail. Margaret Hays boarded Lifeboat 7 with Lady wrapped in a blanket, and fellow passenger James Clinch Smith is said to have joked about putting a life preserver on the dog too. Elizabeth Rothschild reached the rescue ship Carpathia with her Pomeranian on Lifeboat 6, and when the crew at first refused to let the dog aboard, she said she would stay put unless the dog came with her. Henry Harper later described the moment his family boarded Lifeboat 3 with Sun Yat Sen, saying there seemed to be lots of room and nobody made any objection. You can imagine how much comfort a small warm body must have brought on a lifeboat in the freezing dark.
Part 3
The dogs that did not make it
Most of the dogs on board did not survive, and nearly all of them were larger breeds kept in the kennel rather than in a cabin. Recorded losses include a King Charles Spaniel and an Airedale Terrier owned by William Carter's children, a Chow Chow owned by stockbroker Harry Anderson, and a champion French Bulldog named Gamin de Pycombe owned by Robert Williams Daniel. John Jacob Astor's Airedale Terrier, Kitty, also perished, along with her owner. A passenger named Ann Isham refused to get into a lifeboat without her large dog, possibly a Great Dane or a Saint Bernard, though some details of this story have been questioned.
Kennel dogs had little real chance once the ship began to sink, because they were kept apart from their owners on the boat deck rather than close by in a cabin. As the ship listed, someone, possibly a passenger, freed the dogs from the kennel. The freed dogs then ran up and down the sloping deck in the chaos, and none of them are known to have survived. If you have ever tried to move a frightened dog through a crowd, you can understand how hopeless that scene must have been.
Part 4
What the ship's dog show reveals about the voyage
The dog owners aboard had planned an informal dog show for the morning of April 15, the very day the Titanic sank. It never took place. One passenger, the painter Francis Davis Millet, wrote with some disapproval about the number of women aboard carrying tiny dogs.
That contrasts with how the kenneled dogs were treated day to day. Larger dogs stayed below on the boat deck in kennels, cared for by the ship's carpenter and exercised by crew members, rather than kept close to their families in staterooms. You can see the same gap today between a dog who sleeps on the bed and one who spends most of the day in a kennel run.
Part 5
Separating fact from popular legend
Two stories about Titanic dogs are considered myths, not supported by evidence. One tells of a Newfoundland named Rigel, said to have swum in the freezing water and barked to help the Carpathia find survivors, but researchers have found no record of the dog in any passenger account. The other claims that a woman's body was later seen in the water with her arms wrapped around a large dog, a story linked to Ann Isham that has never been confirmed and may come from a fictional account rather than a real sighting. So if you have heard either of these as history, it is worth treating them as folklore instead.
These sources agree on the core facts: around twelve dogs aboard, three survivors, and a kennel that held most of the rest. Some details, including the exact number of dogs aboard, remain uncertain.
Things you might not know
- The ship carried at least twelve dogs, and only three of them survived.
- Three dogs survived the sinking, and all three were small.
- It never took place.
Questions people ask
How many dogs were on the Titanic?
At least twelve dogs were aboard the Titanic, though there may have been more that were never recorded.
Did any dogs survive the Titanic?
Yes, three dogs survived: two Pomeranians and a Pekingese. All three had been kept in their owners' cabins rather than in the ship's kennel.
What breed of dog survived the Titanic?
The three survivors were two Pomeranians, owned by Margaret Hays and Elizabeth Rothschild, and a Pekingese named Sun Yat Sen, owned by Henry and Myra Harper.
Was there really a dog show planned on the Titanic?
Yes, an informal dog show was scheduled for the morning of April 15, 1912, the day the ship sank, and it never happened.
Why were most dogs on the Titanic not rescued?
Most dogs were larger breeds kept in the ship's kennel rather than close to their owners in cabins. Someone opened the kennels as the ship went down, freeing the dogs, who ran along the deck.
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Sources
- Remembering the Dogs of the Titanic. American Kennel Club.
- Titanic dogs. National Museums Liverpool.
- Animals aboard the Titanic - Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org.
- Meet The 12 Dogs On Titanic and the 3 That Miraculously Survived - Rocky Kanaka. Rocky Kanaka, Nov 2, 2023.
- The Real Dogs of the RMS Titanic. Featured E - Magazine, Nov 26, 2014.
- Dogs of the Titanic: Three Who Survived. America Comes Alive, Aug 25, 2014.
- Meet the 3 Dogs That Survived the Sinking of the Titanic. A-Z Animals, Dec 29, 2022.
Written by TimeWalkies EditorialLast updated How we research