Here a Woof! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Belka and Strelka

Belka and Strelka, like Laika, were mixed-breed dogs involved in the Russian Space program. Laika orbited the earth aboard Sputnik 2 in 1957. Unfortunately, no arrangements had been made for her to survive until re-entry - she was expected to run out of oxygen after about ten days, but probably died within hours when the thermal control system failed early in the flight. Belka (whose name means Squirrel) and Strelka (whose name means Arrow) were more fortunate. They orbited the earth for a day in August, 1960 along with a rabbit, some rats, a large number of mice, and an assortment of insects and plants. All passengers returned in excellent health. Strelka later had puppies (their father, Pushok, was a ground-based member of the space program); one of the puppies, Pushinka (Fluffy) was given to Caroline Kennedy as a gift when Nikita Kruschev made a state visit in 1961.

The picture shows Strelka's preserved body as displayed during an Australian tour in 1993.

Answer: Siberian husky

In late January, health authorities were unable to fly the urgently-needed diphtheria antitoxin from Anchorage to Nome, because of mechanical issues, and decided to ship it by train to Nenana, before transferring it to a relay of dog sleds. The longest and most challenging leg was actually covered by a team handled by Leonhard Seppala and led by Togo, but it was Balto who led Gunnar Kaasen's team into Nome on February 2, ending a race to cover 674 miles (1,085 km) in only 127.5 hours.

A statue of Balto has been erected in New York City's Central Park, in honour of all the dogs who participated in this life-saving event. Balto's life after this was not all sunshine - he and some of the other dogs became part of a travelling sideshow exhibit, from which they were rescued in 1927 as a result of a fund-raising campaign by the children of Cleveland, Ohio.

He lived out the rest of his life in the Cleveland Zoo. On his death in 1933, his stuffed body was placed on display at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Answer: Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe, formerly known as Southern Rhodesia, has had a rough transition to stability since attaining independence in 1980. The early years of the 21st century saw extensive land-redistribution programs, often involving violent acquisition of property. On March 18, 2002, a farmer named Terry Ford was bludgeoned to death on his property near the capital of Harare.

The first his sister in Melbourne, Australia knew of this was when she was informed that the news was broadcasting footage of Squeak guarding Terry's body. Squeak was eventually removed; he was taken to the funeral by the dead man's fiancée, pictured holding him.

Answer: Frisbee Dog World Championships

Also known (since 1980) as the Ashley Whippet Invitational World Championship and the Canine Frisbee Disc World Championship, this event was started in 1975 by the whippet's owner, Alex Stein, as a companion activity for the human championships that took place at the same time.

Ashley first hit the headlines when he and his owner invaded the field during a nationally-televised baseball game in 1974. The dog's disc-catching abilities impressed people so much that the game was actually stopped for eight minutes before the two were escorted from the field, and Stein was arrested.

Answer: Pug

Apparently Pompey woke up when an assassin attempted to attack William the Silent as he slept in a tent during a military campaign, and his persistent barking and scratching, culminating with a leap onto the prince's face to awake him, saved the day. (William was later assassinated in 1584 - presumably Pompey wasn't there.) William's grandson, William III of Orange, brought pugs with him when he arrived to share the throne of England with his wife, Mary II, in 1688.

The picture does not show Pompey, although it may be one of his descendants.

Answer: Dickin Medal

The Dickin Medal is awarded to animals who have displayed "conspicuous gallantry or devotion to duty while serving or associated with any branch of the Armed Forces or Civil Defence Units". It is often nicknamed "the animals' VC", a reference to the Victoria Cross, the highest award made to human soldiers.

Judy was bred in Shanghai, and donated to the Royal Navy as a puppy. In 1942 she was the mascot for HMS Grasshopper when it sank. She is credited with finding the water that saved them all on the island where the crew washed up, and accompanied the men on the subsequent voyage to Sumatra that led to imprisonment. She was officially registered as a prisoner of war, the only dog known to have had this recognition, and was smuggled back to England after the war by Frank Williams, who became her new owner. Judy's citation for the Dickin Medal reads "For magnificent courage and endurance in Japanese prison camps, thus helping to maintain morale among her fellow prisoners and for saving many lives by her intelligence and watchfulness."

(Information from PDSA Dickin Medal stories; http://www.webcitation.org/5u7LSS5Hr)

Answer: New Zealand

Rajah was trained by his owner, Constable John Robertson, to locate hidden weapons and (occasionally) to find the bodies of missing persons. He assisted police in a number of places around New Zealand during the 1930s. As well as working for the police, he was involved in public performances to demonstrate his ability to find hidden objects.

When the original Rin Tin Tin died, Rajah was offered the replacement position, but the family decided to keep him working in New Zealand.

Answer: World Trade Center

Appollo (yes, that's how it is spelled), who had been in service with the NYPD since 1994, was the first search and rescue dog to arrive on site at the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. The work of all the brave dogs who risked their lives to save people trapped inside the debris, and later to help retrieve bodies, was recognized when Appollo was awarded the Dickin medal on behalf of all of them. Two guide dogs who had rescued their owners from the 71st and 78th floors of the World Trade Centre also received the Dickin Medal.

The photo is of one of the dogs working at the site on that day.

Answer: Labrador retriever

Endal (1995-2009) developed osteochondrosis in both front legs as a puppy, but the painful condition was successfully controlled with diet and exercise. He was assigned to be a service dog for Allen Parton, whose injuries in the 1990-91 Gulf War left him in a wheelchair, with serious speech and memory problems. Endal was able to respond to over a hundred instructions, including such feats as using an ATM (at least, he could insert and retrieve the card), operating light switches, putting laundry into and out of a washing machine, fetching items from shop shelves, and more! Endal received much media coverage, along with many awards, during his lifetime.

The picture shows him sporting the PDSA's Gold Medal for Animal Gallantry and Devotion to Duty, the peacetime equivalent of the Dickin Medal.

Answer: Border collie

The picture is not one of these canine geniuses, but it is a Border collie, long known to be one of the most intelligent of dog breeds. Rico (1994-2008) was reported (in "Science", 11 June 2004) as being able to recognise over 200 words, to learn new words (the names of simple objects) on a single exposure, and to retain the learning for over a month before being tested again. "Betsy" (2002- ) uses a pseudonym to protect her anonymity.

She featured in a cover story for "National Geographic" in March 2008, which reported that this Viennese superstar had a vocabulary of around 350 words, could recognise phrases as well as simple words, could identify an object after seeing a photograph of it, and could identify over ten people by name. Chaser was reported in the December 22, 2010 edition of "Popular Science" as having a vocabulary of over 1000 words! Researchers stopped training her because they ran out of time, not because they felt she had reached capacity.