Dogs Can't Write Memoirs! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Laika

"Privyet! My name is Laika. I am a dog, but I don't know what kind of dog I really am. I am described as being a little bit husky and a little bit terrier. I think I was born in 1954, but I am not too sure of that. What I am sure of is that the humans in my home country (the Soviet Union) wanted to send me on a trip to outer space. They sent a big metal ball into space (Sputnik 1 - October 4, 1957) and I guess they wanted me to go and fetch it for them."

Laika (a female mixed breed) was launched into space on Sputnik 2 (November 3, 1957) aboard a special capsule designed to provide basic life support. Laika survived the launch, but imperfections in the spacecraft made her trip a rough one. The temperature inside the cabin became very hot and her oxygen supply was rapidly depleting. While Laika was not expected to survive, the specifics on how she actually died is debatable. Some people believe that she died of hypoxia, while others believe she was euthanized. Laika became a national hero and had a statue of her erected at Star City in Moscow, Russia.

Answer: Bretagne

"Hello! My name is Bretagne. I was born in 1999 and lived in Texas with my master Denise Corliss, who is a brave firefighter. I remember when some bad humans knocked some buildings down in New York City. They called on me and my master to come help rescue humans that got trapped. I did such a good job they wanted me to help rescue more humans after some scary storms."

Bretagne was a female golden retriever. She was one of over 100 dogs tasked with assisting with the recovery effort following the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001. In addition, Bretagne also assisted with rescue efforts following Hurricanes Ivan, Katrina and Rita. Bretagne is believed to be the last of the 9/11 rescue dogs to pass away. She was euthanized on June 6, 2016 after she began to suffer from kidney failure. Her story was documented in many forms of media, including newspapers and television news specials.

Answer: Bo

"Greetings my fellow Americans. My name is Bo, the former First Dog of the United States of America. I was born in Chicago in 2008 and was adopted by my master President Barack Obama the next year. Four years later, my girlfriend Sunny moved in and we all lived happily in the White House until we had to move away in 2017. I miss living there."

Bo is a male Portuguese water dog. Bo and one of his siblings had been previously adopted by Senator Ted Kennedy. Senator Kennedy later gifted one of the two puppies (Bo) to President Obama several months before the senator passed away in 2009. Bo officially became a part of the family on April 14, 2009. In 2013, the Obamas welcomed a second Portuguese water dog to the White House, this time a female named Sunny who was born in 2012.

Answer: Gidget

"Hola! Mi nombre es Gidget y yo quiero Taco Bell! I was born in 1994 and in 1997 I starred in my first commercial for Taco Bell. The audience really liked me and Taco Bell brought me back to do more commercials for them. I also did a commercial with the lizard from GEICO and even appeared in a movie (Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde) in 2003."

Gidget was a female chihuahua who 'spoke' with a male voice during her famous Taco Bell commercials. The voice for Gidget was provided by American comedian Carlos Alazraqui, who is of Argentine descent. The chihuahua would speak in both Spanish and English and had a thick Mexican accent. While popular at first, the commercials became increasingly offensive to the Hispanic community, which prompted Taco Bell to stop making the commercials in 2000. Gidget was put down on July 21, 2009 after suffering a stroke.

Answer: Snuppy

"Annyeong! My name is Snuppy. I was born in the country of South Korea. My masters at the big school told me that I was a clone. What does that mean? Is there another Snuppy like me running around somewhere? I hope I can meet myself one day. That would be cool."

Snuppy was the first dog to ever be successfully cloned. He was a male Afghan hound and was born on April 24, 2005. He was one of over a thousand embryos created using tissue samples taken from a donor Afghan hound. The research was performed by scientists at Seoul National University in South Korea (hence the name SNUppy). A total of 1,095 embryos were created, but only three of them continued to develop once they were transferred to a surrogate mother. Snuppy and one other clone survived through the pregnancy, however the second clone died several weeks after birth. Snuppy passed away in 2015 at the age of ten.

Answer: Balto

"Hello! My name is Balto. One year, the humans from my home in Alaska got very sick and needed medicine. Since we lived so far away, they asked me and my dogmates to travel through the cold and snowy weather and fetch the medicine for them. It was a tough trip, but we made it and everyone was happy."

Balto was a male Siberian husky who was born in the remote city of Nome, Alaska in 1919. In 1925, a disease called diphtheria began infecting citizens of Nome. At the time, the only way to get medicine there was to transport it 674 miles (1,085 km) via dog sled after the medicine arrived at the town of Nenana by train. After departing Nenana, the medicine would be handed off to a different team of dog sledders who were standing by in another town. Balto was the lead dog for the final leg of the journey and became a local and national hero after successfully delivering the medicine. The journey served as the inspiration for the annual Iditarod dog races held in Alaska every year. A statue of Balto was erected shortly after in New York City. Balto passed away on March 14, 1933.

Answer: Jonathan

"Let's go Huskies! Let's go Huskies! My name is Jonathan and I love being a cheerleader. It makes me so proud when the humans at my school win their sports games. I wish they would let me fetch the football though. The school loves me so much, they even have a human dress up in a costume that looks like me."

Jonathan is the name of a live male husky that serves as the mascot of the University of Connecticut (UConn) Huskies. The tradition began on July 23, 1934, when Jonathan I became the mascot of what was then known as Connecticut State College. Jonathan I died less than a year later after getting hit by a car. Each successive live husky mascot for UConn is given the name Jonathan. For example, Jonathan XIV took over the role after Jonathan XIII retired in 2014. The name Jonathan was chosen as an homage to Jonathan Trumbull, the first Governor of Connecticut.

Answer: Smoky

"My name is Smoky and this is my story. War can be a scary time, especially for a little dog like me. I was left alone one day and needed to hide to stay safe. Luckily some brave soldiers came and rescued me. Since the nice humans helped me survive, I returned the favor and helped them."

In 1944, American soldiers on the island of New Guinea discovered Smoky, a small female Yorkshire terrier, hiding in an abandoned foxhole. The dog was believed to have only been a year old when she was found. Smoky was eventually adopted by Corporal William Wynne, after the soldiers were unable to find her original owner. Smoky (aka Yorkie Doodle Dandy) later saw some duty on the Pacific front helping the Americans during reconnaissance missions and braving some tough battles, which earned her eight battle stars and an honorary rank of corporal. In addition, Smoky is considered the first therapy dog as she was called upon to help comfort injured soldiers. Smoky returned to the United States with her master and enjoyed a very active life before passing away on February 21, 1957.

Answer: Cairo

"Hi, my name is Cairo and I am a proud Navy Seal. I was chosen by my country to track a very bad man and keep my fellow soldiers safe. They sent me to this place called Pakistan and I found the bad man hiding in his house. I'm so glad that I got the chance to serve my country."

Nearly a decade after the terrorist attacks that occurred on September 11, 2001, American intelligence agents were able to discover the hideout of Osama bin Laden, the mastermind behind the attack. Cairo was a male Belgian Malinois (aka Belgian shepherd) who accompanied the Navy Seals during their raid on bin Laden's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan on May 2, 2011. Cairo was the only dog in the group and was trained not only to search for bin Laden, but also to protect the soldiers from explosives and warn them if any enemy soldiers came too close. Cairo was reported to have cornered bin Laden allowing the Seals to take him down. Cairo was euthanized in 2015 shortly after retiring to live with his fellow Navy Seal Will Chesney.

Answer: Nipper

"Hello, my name is Nipper. You won't believe what happened to me today. I was staring into this big circle that had weird sounds coming out of it. It was such an amazing thing that I couldn't help but just sit down and listen to it. It was all so fascinating!"

Nipper earned much of his notoriety as corporate mascot, especially for the American company RCA Records. Nipper was a male dog who resembled a Jack Russell terrier, but was actually thought to be a mixed breed. He was born in Bristol, England in 1884. One of his owners was English artist Francis Barraud. After Nipper passed away in 1895, Francis had the inspiration to create "His Master's Voice", a painting that features Nipper staring into the speaker of a phonograph. Initially critics were skeptical about the idea of a dog being interested in a phonograph, but per Francis himself, "We had a phonograph and I often noticed how puzzled he was to make out where the voice came from." In 1899, The Gramophone Company in England became the first of many companies to acquire rights to the painting to use for marketing purposes.