Owney the postal dog gets a makeover

WASHINGTON, July 25 (UPI) -- The National Postal Museum in Washington said the stuffed remains of Owney the dog, a postal icon since 1888, received a makeover to coincide with his stamp.

The museum said Owney, whose image graces a "Forever" stamp due to be released Wednesday, received was fixed up in June by retired Smithsonian taxidermist Paul Rhymer and is returning to display at the postal museum, The Washington Post reported Monday.

"My restoration got it back about halfway to what it should have looked like," Rhymer said. "We decided to try to make him look a little better, a little more realistic."

Rhymer said his work included replacing Owney's eyes, patching bald spots on his fur and sculpting a new snout.

Owney the dog became famous after he wandered into a post office in Albany, N.Y., in 1888 and spent the night on a pile of mailbags. He traveled the country with the Railway Post Office until he was shot by a Toledo, Ohio, town marshal in 1897 after reportedly attacking a mail clerk.

"This dog, he's that indefatigable character that can throw you back into history," said Linda Edquist, a conservator at the National Postal Museum. "It's a great way to connect people to the 1890s."