Long before modern celebrity pets, there was Dave the Wonder Dog—the famous English Setter who shared the spotlight with legendary sharpshooter Annie Oakley and her husband, Frank Butler. Nearly as famous as his mistress, Dave became a sensation in Annie’s live shooting demonstrations by balancing an apple on his head until Annie shot it off. During World War I, Dave helped Annie raise thousands of dollars for war relief and earning his place in history as “Red Cross Dave.”
Annie Oakley (1860-1926) made her name as a sure shot in hunting. (See Annie Oakley: Sharpshooter and Remarkable Woman.) Her family was poor, and she began hunting when she was a child to help put food on the table. Later she supported the family by selling much of her bounty.
A hunting dog like Dave would have been an asset to Annie during these years, but the family could barely feed themselves let alone feed an extra animal. During these years. Annie was her own tracker. She learned her way through the Ohio woods, moving quietly and observing the world around her so that she would see any wild game—usually quail or grouse.
Over time, she became such a good shot that she could take out most birds with a single bullet through the head. Restaurants paid more for birds where the body was intact, so even without a hunting dog, Annie Oakley did just fine.
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Life Changed
Her life changed in 1875 when she met Frank Butler. Butler was a sharpshooter who performed on his own and with various traveling shows. Customarily, he arrived in a town and offered $100 to anyone who could best his shooting record.
One of the restaurant owners to whom Annie sold game added her name to the roster of those who would match their shooting ability against Butler. To Frank’s (and the community’s) surprise, Annie proved to be a better shot than he was… Frank was so tickled by the 15-year-old girl who could outshoot him, he used his companion, a white poodle named George, to take the $100 bill to Annie.
Annie was said to have fallen in love with the dog almost as quickly as she fell in love with Frank.
Married Life
Barely a year after they met, Frank Butler and Annie Oakley were married. From that time on, Annie Oakley lived in a household surrounded by dogs.
Frank loved animals and was an experienced trainer. George, the poodle, was his beloved sidekick and occasionally part of the show, but Frank also bred and trained hunting dogs if he and Annie weren’t traveling the show circuit.
Once Annie and Frank were married and financially secure, hunting became a shared hobby. They loved going out into the woods and hunting quail and grouse. The dogs Frank trained always went with them.
Meeting Dave
Frank and Annie were thinking about retirement and purchased a home along the Eastern shore of Maryland. While visiting Cambridge, Maryland, Frank was introduced to the remaining pup from a litter spawned by California Bell Boy, a champion English Setter. He fell in love with the black-and-tan puppy with the “soulful eyes.”
They chose to name him Dave after one of their friends who sometimes traveled the vaudeville circuit with them—Dave Montgomery, a very popular comedian.
Frank and Annie often went out hunting with the dogs Frank was training. As they traversed the marshlands and wooded areas, puppy Dave followed along and took quickly to his life as a hunting dog.
The couple noted what a calm dog Dave was. He never flinched at gunfire when they were out hunting, so they began to consider working him in to performances. Frank had used his dog George in his own act and saw potential in training Dave for a similar role.
Moving to North Carolina
In 1917, they sold their home in Maryland and relocated to the resort town of Pinehurst, North Carolina. Frank was hired to manage the Pinehurst Gun Club and Annie gave shooting exhibitions twice a week and taught classes to women who were interested in shooting and self-defense.
They were given lodging in the Carolina Hotel. Though no other dogs were allowed in the hotel, Dave had special permission.
At Annie’s twice-weekly performances, Frank and Annie started using Dave in the act. Dave was trained to sit on a stool with an apple balanced on his head. Annie would step several yards away and turn and fire.
She never missed.
On a particularly good day, Dave was able to tip his head up and catch part of the split apple in his mouth. The crowds loved it.
World War I Looms
Like other Americans, Frank and Annie were not eager for the United States to enter the war, but if the country was to do so, then they wanted to support the people going into harm’s way.
The Butlers offered their services to raise money for the war effort. Oakley traveled for the National War Council of the Young Men’s Christian Association and the Red Cross. At stops along the way, she gave demonstrations of her shooting ability.
Dave went with them on these trips, and the dog became exceedingly popular with the troops. The press liked him, too, and took to calling him “Red Cross Dave.”
By this time, Dave was part of the shooting demonstrations, but Frank crafted a twist to the act. People were told to hide some cash in their pockets or handkerchiefs. As the demonstration went on, Dave walked through the crowd. If Dave sniffed out the cash, the money went to the Red Cross. People loved it.
Post-War Years
After the war, Annie (now in her early sixties) divided her time the way many “snowbirds” do. They spent winters in Florida, and during the warmer months, they stayed north. She, Frank, and Dave loved a particular resort in New Hampshire, but sometimes they put together a circuit of towns where they could perform. At this stage of their careers, they donated most of the money to organizations they cared about.
In November 1922, the Butlers were on their way to Florida where they planned to spend the winter. The dogs—including Dave—were sent down by rail. A chauffeur was hired to drive Annie, Frank, and two close friends to Leesburg, Florida, where they routinely spent their winters at the Lake View Hotel.
The car was an oversized luxury Cadillac convertible. As they sped down the Dixie highway, they were about 50 miles outside Daytona Beach when the driver lost control. The heavy car flipped over, and Annie was pinned under the automobile. Bystanders rushed forward to help free Annie from beneath the wreckage.
Bedside Vigil
Annie Oakley was rushed to a hospital in Daytona Beach. She had a fractured hip and a damaged right ankle. A surgeon stepped in right away and saved her life, but she faced a long and uncertain recovery.
After a couple of days at the hospital, Frank felt comfortable enough to leave Annie and went to check on the dogs and retrieve Dave. He knew how important Dave would be to Annie’s recovery. Frank rented a room in Daytona Beach so he and Dave could be close to her.
Dave was a huge comfort. At first Annie was too ill to sit up, so a stool was placed by the bedside so that Dave could sit up by her. At times, she would pat his head and was generally repaid by some friendly licks.
Recovery Progresses
After a couple of months in the hospital, Annie was well enough to move to their usual rooms in the Lake View in Leesburg. She was making good progress when tragedy struck again.
Dave, now 10 years old, had wandered out to Main Street, just outside the hotel. He was hit by a passing car that badly injured him. He died on Feb. 25, 1923.
The grieving couple felt the pain of Dave’s death as “parents would feel the loss of a child,” one newspaper noted. The Butlers wanted to lay Dave to rest in the city’s Lone Oak Cemetery, but city officials turned them down, saying only people could be buried there.
There is some debate as to where Dave’s final resting place was, but most accounts suggest it was on property owned by George and Annie Winter, friends of the Butlers.
Today, a sculpture of Annie Oakley and her legendary dog Dave stands behind the public library in Leesburg to honor their connection to the town.
Booklet About/By Dave
To pay homage to their canine companion, Butler penned a short booklet titled “The Life of Dave as Told by Himself.” (Booklet still available at the Garst Museum.)
“Dave was more than some humans,” Butler wrote on the back page of the booklet. Dave “awaits us both in the Happy Hunting Ground.”
Dave came into Annie and Frank’s life when they were older. His calmness was notable. When they added him to the act audiences loved it!
When Annie performed, Dave would circulate through the crowd looking for “hidden” money. (People were warned this would happen.) Any money he found was donated to the Red Cross.