The Basset hound made famous in the Hush Puppies shoe commercials was officially known as: Jasonian of Westchester, CDX (a.k.a. Jason, 1979-1990).

The Hush Puppies name and mascot were coined by the brand's first sales manager, James Gaylord Muir. Initially, the company's advertising agency recommended naming the product "Lasers." Then, on a selling trip to the southeast, Mr. Muir dined with one of his regional salesmen and the meal included hush puppies, traditional fried southern cornballs. When Mr. Muir asked about the origin of the name, he was told that farmers threw hush puppies at the hounds to "quiet their barking dogs."

Mr. Muir saw a connection to his new product. "Barking dogs" in the vernacular of the day was an idiom for sore feet. Mr. Muir surmised his new shoes were so comfortable that they could "quiet barking dogs."

Today, Hush Puppies have one of the highest aided brand recognition levels in the world, with many countries reporting over 90% recognition.

Tia, a 2 year old Neapolitan Mastiff gave birth to the world's largest litter in 2005. She delivered 24 puppies by caesarean section. Twenty of them survived, setting another record of the most surviving puppies.

The world's tallest dog is a Great Dane from Sacramento named Gibson. He measures 7 feet when standing upright.

Andrew Larkey of Sydney Australia walked 11 dogs at once on leash for one kilometre.

Twelve veterinary science students from the University of Sydney set a record bathing dogs when they scrubbed 848 dogs in eight hours.

The first search and rescue dog on the scene of the World Trade Centre disaster on September 11. 2001, was Bear, an 11 year old Golden Retriever. He began recovery efforts immediately, working 18 hour days in the beginning.

Bear, 9/11 Canine Hero

Once there, the pair worked straight through the night and into the following morning. According to firemen on the scene, Bear was the only search-and-rescue dog known to be working the entire west side of the site for approximately six or seven hours following the tragedy.

Through the initial days of rescue efforts, Bear worked an exhausting eighteen hours per day searching for survivors and victims, often being hoisted into sunken pockets of rubble, glass and metal to look for bodies. Although records were kept of Bear's finds (indeed of all the finds made at the site), it is virtually impossible to make a total estimation of Bear's work in the area. As Captain Shields has stated, "How do you count the pieces?"

Nevertheless, it is believed that Bear probably garnered the most hits of any rescue worker who searched the area...man or dog. Bear is also credited with making the only live finds by a canine, as well discovering the remains of the much-loved New York Fire Department Chief, Peter Canci.

Bear passed away on September 23, 2002, six weeks shy of his 13th birthday

 Based on an average life span of 11 years, the cost of owning a dog is approximately $18,000.

Dogs only sweat from the bottoms of their feet, the only way they can discharge heat is by panting. Dogs and wolves yawn as a sign of contentment.

Dogs have about 100 different facial expressions, most of them made with the ears. Unfortunately, the likes of bulldogs and pit bulls only have 10, due to their breeding. Therefore, these dogs easily get misinterpreted by other dogs and often get into fights.

One of the world’s oldest breeds of dog is the Saluki. It is thought to have been developed in ancient Mesopotamia around 3000 B.C.

"Three dog night" (attributed to Australian Aborigines) came about because on especially cold nights these nomadic people needed three dogs (dingos, actually) to keep from freezing.