In the 19th and 20th centuries, dogs worked the platforms of British railway stations as charity collectors, a box strapped to their backs or a purse in their mouth, barking and performing tricks to melt passengers’ hearts. The coins that followed helped sick railway workers and their families.

The most famous was a collie named Help, whose collar read: “I am Help, the railway dog of England, a traveling agent for the orphans of railwaymen killed on duty.” By his death in 1891, he had reportedly traveled every railway line in Britain, visited every major city, and made two trips to France, raising over £1,000 in his lifetime, about 117,000 rubles today.

Another star was Lady, an Airedale terrier who collected at Waterloo Station for an orphanage supporting children of Southern Railway workers, raising more than £5,000 over seven years.

The practice has since faded, replaced by safer, more transparent ways to give.

P.S. Charity once had a wagging tail.

🐕‍🦺💰🚉

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