The Most Famous Urban Legends About Dogs

Man's best friend is the hero of many urban legends and myths. From hilariously funny to truly chilling. From completely made up to those that do have some basis in reality.

We have picked some of the most interesting modern myths in which dogs play the leading role and tried to work out how much truth there is in them.

THE “BLIND” PILOT AND THE GUIDE DOG

One of the favourite urban legends circulating on the internet tells of a pilot who used a stopover to take a walk wearing sunglasses and leading a guide dog for the blind. Supposedly, mass hysteria broke out among the passengers. The story comes with a (logical) explanation. When the plane landed somewhere in America, the passengers were told there would be a break and that they could use the time to stretch their legs in the airport terminal. Everyone got off except one blind passenger travelling with his dog, writes MAGAZIN PAS.

The pilot approached him and asked whether he would like to stretch his legs. “No, but my dog would enjoy a walk,” the blind passenger replied, and the pilot kindly took his dog for a walk. The legend is considered untrue, although some claim it has its roots in a joke by a certain Captain Welford, who was prone to such witticisms.

GUINNESS RECORD HOLDER HERCULES

A photograph has been circulating online for years with a text about an English Mastiff named Hercules who entered the Guinness Book of Records as the biggest dog in the world. He is, they say, 98 centimetres tall at the shoulder and weighs 127 kilograms. In essence the story is true: Hercules is the heaviest dog in the world at 127 kilograms. The problem is the picture. The dog in it is by no means an English Mastiff but a Neapolitan Mastiff, and besides, the picture has been photoshopped to make the dog look unnaturally large.

THE ADULTERER AND THE SNITCH

The husband was lying ill in bed, so the wife decided to take over his duty that evening and take the dog for a walk. When they left the house, she let him lead her wherever he wanted. It turned out the dog led her straight to the door of her husband's mistress. The legend goes on to say that the mistress opened the door in a negligee with a broad smile on her face (which froze when she realised it was not the person she was expecting at the door), while the dog at her feet ran into the house straight to a bowl of his favourite food, already prepared. Different versions of this story have been around since the 1930s, but it is impossible to establish whether it is even partly true.

AND FROM THE BEST MAN…

Here is a story that the website Snopes.com, which investigates urban legends, claims is true. According to it, a man lent his camera to a friend to film a wedding. However, when the guests sat down to watch the recording, they got quite a sight: the owner of the camera appeared on the screen having sexual intercourse with his dog. The unfortunate and definitely disturbed man had forgotten to erase his recordings before lending the camera. Some newspapers wrote about it in 1994, and the maniac was convicted because the court did not believe his defence that the recording was a fake.

THE CHOKING DOBERMAN

The story of the choking Doberman is so well known that a book about urban legends was named after it. It appeared in the 1980s and has never been confirmed. There are different variants, but the basic thread is the same. A woman leaves her Doberman, which is choking and gasping for breath, at the vet's. As soon as she gets home, she receives a call from the alarmed vet telling her to leave the house immediately: they have found human fingers in her dog's throat. In some versions of the story the police later find in the house the unfortunate burglar who ran into the wrong dog.

ST. BERNARDS ON THE MENU

This one is truly chilling and hard to even imagine being true, although Snopes.com claims it is true at least in part. According to this story (which inspired the title of the famous film “In China They Eat Dogs”, a favourite in Serbia too), in some parts of China St. Bernards are bred for food. Although it is true that some newspapers wrote about it, we should not forget that the press has also carried many other bizarre stories that were later found to be made up. In any case, there is no witness who saw it first-hand and can confirm the story. So we choose not to believe it.

THE MEXICAN PET

Another very popular story in America. It tells of an American woman who brings a Chihuahua home from a holiday in Mexico, or so she thinks. When the dog falls ill, she takes it to the vet, where they discover it is actually a Mexican rat. It is hard to tell how much truth there is in this story, but stranger things have happened. Haven't they?

LUCKY THE UNLUCKY GUIDE DOG

Lucky was a guide dog for the blind who led four of his owners to their deaths. Or so this legend says. He led the first owner in front of a bus that killed him, the second he led over the edge of a dock straight into the sea, the third died in the subway, and the fourth died in traffic when Lucky left him in the middle of an intersection and ran off. In the version circulating online they even quote a certain dog trainer who supposedly said: “We won't put Lucky down. He is essentially a good guide dog, he just needs a bit more practice with some basic skills.” Need we say there is not a shred of truth in this story.

THE DYING GREAT DANE

Finally, here is a bizarre story you have undoubtedly heard. Part of growing up in the 1990s was the story that a Great Dane, when it senses its last day approaching, first kills its owner, writes MAGAZIN PAS. The story was very widespread, boys loved retelling it, but, of course, most people understood it was plain nonsense.

Source: blic.rs