Known at first as the mascot of the Albany post office, the tramp dog soon became the faithful companion of the nations railway mail clerks. Knowing that his trips were taking him across the country, Albany mail clerks fastened a note to Owney's collar asking others to record Owney's journey by attaching leather and metal baggage tags to this collar. He soon collected so many tags that Postmaster General John Wanamaker gave Owney a special harness to lighten his load. Owney collected 1,017 tags, tokens, trinkets and medals during his travels.

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