Dog Names that Start with Ha

The first famous dog to make the list who has a name that starts with "Ha" is Happy from the television show, 7th Heaven.  Happy was the Camden's dog on the 90's sitcom who was also named Happy in real life.  The thirty-pound white Terrier mix also went by the nickname Hap and lived to fifteen.  She was rescued by animal trainer Shawn Webber from a shelter in California and went on to become a famous dog in popular culture.

While Happy is a well-known dog with a name that starts with "Ha," there is yet a legendary dog whose name starts with "Ha" - Hachiko or Hachi for short.  Hachiko is the famed Akita of Japan who is known throughout the world and throughout history as the dog who waited every day for his master to return home on the train long after his owner passed away.  The devotion and loyalty of the breed sparked national interest in the breed, which had only thirty remaining purebred specimens at one point during the 1930s.  As a young dog, Hachiko would greet his master, a professor, every day at the train station at the same time.  However, on May 21, 1925, Hachiko's master suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while lecturing and passed away.  Faithful and devoted Hachiko continued to wait every day for the next nine years, nine months, and fifteen days at the train station, until his own death.  

Hachiko was more than just a loyal and devoted dog; he was an ambassador for his breed.  His life and loyalty became a national legend, and he was a national hero to the Japanese.  A bronze statue was erected of Hachiko at the station to remind the Japanese people of the power of fidelity.  The rising breed awareness for the Akita through Hachiko allowed the breed to survive the decade to come with World War II and Hachiko's legendary story also reached the West.  In 1937, Helen Keller, who was a deaf and blind champion of the disabled in the United States was touring in Japan when she first encountered the story of Hachiko.  Helen Keller was so awestruck by the story that she said she would love to have one of the faithful dogs as her companion.  The Japanese heard her wish and took it seriously by gifting her one of the dogs.  Helen Keller later returned to the United States where she was credited with introducing the new breed.  Unfortunately, War World II made it impossible for citizens to import Akitas but the following the war, the breed quickly rose in popularity and found fast recognition in the American Kennel Club by 1955.