Dogs who went down with the ship..........

This week marks the centenary of the Titanic's ill-fated maiden voyage, so the media is awash (absolutely no pun intended) with stories of the famous ship and its infamous end.  That it still holds such a fascination 100 years after the event is not surprising, given the wealth of tales surrounding it.

Last night I finished reading Voices From The Titanic: The Epic Story of the Tragedy from the People Who Were There.  Among the many dozens of eye witness accounts from survivors, the one which most sticks in my mind is that by Madeleine Astor, the young bride of the millionaire John J Astor who said that she could see, not long before the ship sank, her favourite Airedale terrier Kitty, running around on the deck by her husband.  Both went down with the ship. 

I find this extremely poignant and sad.  

In the book there are mention of a few other dogs, and even of a few who survived, hidden in their owner's clothing and taken onto the lifeboats, so there presumably were more.

After a bit of research this morning, I found this... The Canine Casualties of the Titanic Disaster, and this... Remembering the 12 Dogs Aboard The Titanic 

Of course the loss of nine dogs pales into insignificance compared to the loss of 1517 men, women and children, but I still find the thought of it very distressing.


Would I leave a sinking ship without Small Dog?  Absolutely not.  But then she is extremely portable and rarely leaves our sides so separation would be unthinkable. 

And then there is the reassuring knowledge that ships today are very safe and carry enough lifeboats for everyone on board.  However, a few years ago, when we went to France by ferry with Small Dog, she had to remain on the car deck in our little campervan for the duration of the journey, so if anything had happened, such as THIS or THIS, she would have drowned.

A case for using the Channel Tunnel if ever I heard one.....

EDIT:  Thanks to Winnie for this link Fate of Pets Who Sailed in the Titanic