Annie the Railroad Dog

Annie the Railroad Dog: Annie the railroad dog with Christopher Demuth (1874-1952) [above, center] in front of house at 323 North Sherwood Street in Fort Collins, Colorado.

When railroad brakeman Chris Demuth discovered a scrawny dog outside a Timnath blacksmith shop in 1934, he brought her back to Fort Collins and named her Annie. For years after, she greeted every passenger arriving in Fort Collins, becoming a mascot for the town. She died in 1948.

Said life-long Fort Collins resident Charles Hagemeister in a 1984 interview, "People loved that dog. They (passengers) would always feed her. People that rode the trains still remember her. She was just like a fire station's dog."

Annie's Memory lives on at her gravesite at the Colorado & Southern Depot (today the Downtown Transit Center) at 250 Mason Street in Fort Collins, Colorado. You can also visit her bronze statue at the Old Town Library at 201 Peterson Street or take a stroll along Annie’s walk at Library Park.