Captain Haggerty Died

A fellow dog trainer has died. I never knew him personally, however, John Van Olden, my mentor did. We studied his books and John talked a lot about him. He was 74 and was considered a great one! I want to dedicate this thread to him...

Captain Haggerty, 74, Dog Trainer, Dog Author, Dog Cineaste

By STEPHEN MILLER - Staff Reporter of the Sun
July 17, 2006

Arthur Haggerty, who died July 3 at 74, was a charismatic dog trainer whose students went on to careers as attack dogs, guard dogs, avalanche rescue dogs, bomb-sniffers, sled-pullers, messengers, and herders.

A former Army K-9 unit commander, he established the Captain Haggerty School for Dogs on East 76th Street. There, he became known as dog-trainer to the stars; the U.N. secretary-general, U Thant, Walt Frazier, and Liza Minelli were among his clients.

At one time, Haggerty had the largest stable of rental dogs in the country, numbering some 300, with clients including Manhattan construction sites and major department stores like Macy's, Gimbel's, and Bonwit Teller. Through Captain Haggerty's Theatrical Dogs, he supplied canine talent for advertisements, soap operas, and dozens of films, as well as Sandy for the Broadway show, "Annie" (1983). He also supplied chic oncamera dogs for films shown on the Playboy Channel. (For Hugh Hefner, he trained two Old English Sheepdogs who did not appear on film.)

Over a career revolving around a fixed point marked "dog," Haggerty was a sought-after judge at dog shows; published "Aggression Newsletter," which focused on problem pets; wrote five books on dog training, dog breeds, and dog tricks,and ran a luxury kennel in Westchester he dubbed "Canine Camelot."

Oddly, for a man so devoted to furry companions, Haggerty had his head shaved cue ball clean. With his bulking 300-plus pounds on a 6-foot-3-inch frame, he had a remarkably persuasive physical presence. "I was shaking in my boots," a prominent dog journalist wrote after being buttonholed by Haggerty at the annual Dog Writers of America dinner. "I instantly understood how dogs obeyed him. I was ready to obey him."

Haggerty grew up in the Bronx in an Irish family involved in the labor movement, but his earliest memories were about dogs." I teethed on a feed pan," he told the New York Times in 1978. "I had a bitch who was bred and registered in my name before I was a year old." He began training dogs at 10 and showed terriers and boxers at 15, while attending St Nicholas of Tolentine High School.

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