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Butterfly Bench Show Association Owney Tag:
Owney received this specially-engraved medal during an 1896 dog show in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The tag notes that it was awarded to "Owney the Globe Trotter" by the Butterfly Bench Show of Grand Rapids. On December 10, 1896, the Los Angeles Times noted that the show opened with "300 entries divided into eighty classes. The exhibits are of a much better class than last year, including some of the finest dogs in the country." Owney's fame as a "Globe Trotter" was in reference to the trip he made the previous fall, following mailbags around the world on ocean steamers. |