"GO WEST, YOUNG DOG!" — A Lecture on America’s Forgotten Canine Heroes

In celebration of his new book of the same name, the Philosophical Research Society is proud to welcome back acclaimed author and photographer Dr. Paul Koudounaris for GO WEST, YOUNG DOG!, a fascinating lecture on the history of America's forgotten, rail-riding canine heroes.

By the 1860s, at the completion of the transcontinental rail lines, America’s railroads found themselves serving an unexpected group of passengers: stray dogs, that would hop on and off the trains at will, as they traveled the country as canine vagabonds. And over the next few decades, they would become something considerably more, as their stories were passed among rail crews and eventually newspaper writers who began documenting their adventures.

Several among them gained fame as America’s first true animal celebrities, and the most renowned among them, dogs like Railroad Jack and Owney, became legitimate heroes to working class people who saw in them symbols of existential freedom that humans could only aspire to. Despite being feted during their heyday in the 1890s, these dogs were eventually forgotten, as the age of the railroads gave way to the age of the automobiles and eventually the age of aircraft. Yet their story is not merely part of canine or railroad history, it was once an essential piece of our country’s history, and stands as quintessential example of the American quest for freedom.

Dr. Paul Koudounaris will help us relive the fascinating saga of these in this illustrated lecture—and the first 75 people in attendance will be given a free hard copy of his book on railroad dogs, “Go West, Young Dog!”

Please email [email protected] or phone 323-663-2167 with any questions.

DR. PAUL KOUDOUNARIS

Dr. Paul Koudounaris is a PhD in Art History from UCLA. An author and photographer, his previous works include three books on death (Empire of Death, Heavenly Bodies, and Memento Mori) and one on feline history (A Cat’s Tale, a Barnes and Noble book of the year in 2020). In addition, he is the author of Faithful Unto Death, the only comprehensive study of pet cemeteries and animal burial sites from around the world.

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