Owney: Tales from the Rails

Enjoy the life story of Owney, the official mascot of the Railway Mail Service, in this animated adventure eBook with vocal performance by Trace Adkins.

During his lifetime, Owney was the most famous dog in America. He traveled all over the country and even around the world! Owney’s home was in Albany, New York post office, but he did not spend much time there. He was at home in any railway mail train car. Mail clerks loved the scruffy little dog and gave him tags for his collar. Over 100 years later, Owney and his tags have a new home at the Smithsonian National Postal Museum.

The true story of Owney has been brought to “life” with beautiful animation, a fun (and historically accurate) story, the deep grandfatherly baritone of Trace Adkins, and a catchy theme song. For teachers, both the “Owney: Tales for the Rails” eBook and the “Owney the Dog” iphone app (featuring an augmented reality version of Owney) are supported by a wonderful curriculum guide for teachers (http://npm.si.edu/owneycurriculum/) perfect for lesson planning and home school programs.

Owney was a scruffy mutt who became a regular fixture at the Albany, New York, post office in 1888. Owney loved the mail! Owney began to ride with the bags on Railway Post Office (RPO) train cars across the state . . . and then the country! In 1895 Owney even made an around-the-world trip. Owney has been preserved and is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Postal Museum in Washington, DC.