Do not let the name fool you. Dogs classified in the Non-Sporting Group are the most diverse, catchall of breeds without much in common to fit in any other group. There are 21 breeds in this group ranging from the small, hairless Xoloitzcuintli to the large, fluffy Chow Chow, and also include the Bulldog, Poodle, Shar Pei, and Lhasa Apso. They vary in size, coat, personality, and overall appearance, but one thing they have in common is that they make great companion dogs. It seems that the aviators preferred the Bully type dogs.

Major Rudolph William "Shorty" Schroeder with a Boston Bulldog. Six-foot-four “Shorty” Schroeder set a world record of 28,900 feet in a Bristol airplane from McCook Field. In 1919, he established three more world altitude records, and on Feb. 27, 1920, in a LePere airplane fitted with a General Electric turbo-supercharger, he reached a world-record height of 33,114 feet.

Credited with 28 victories, WW I German aviator Lt. Walter Von Bulow-Bothkamp, is seated with a white fluffy dog and wearing the Pour le Mérite (aka "Blue Max") around his neck. c.1914-1918.

This Bully dog was a mascot for a Navy torpedo squadron and sports aviator goggles, pipe, flying wings and "V.T. . . " written on his cap. James Davis California Pacific International Exposition; Panama Canal Zone Album.

This stylish aviator is with his equally stylish Boston Terrier who is wearing a nice leather harness and a tiny sombrero, 1921. James Hester Special Collection.

A Kelly Field cadet with a young Bully type dog. Kelly Field Scrapbook.

Barnstormer SGT. Carter Buton with a white Bull Terrier type dog, c. 1920s. Carter Buton Photo Collection. Carter Buton was a Barnstormer who was active in Kansas and Ohio during the 1920s.

A group of aviators with a Boston Terrier at the lower left wearing a coat. Theodore Hall Special Collection. Ted Hall worked for Consolidated Aircraft and was involved in the development of the PBY (Catalina), B-24 and C-87 (Liberator), PB2Y-3 (Coronado), the B-32 (Dominator), and received a patent for what eventually became the XC-99.

Anne Lindbergh with a French Bulldog, during Lindbergh’s 1928 goodwill visit to Colombia. Anne Lindbergh Gliders Album.

This Bulldog puppy mascot was “some pilot” in a Curtiss JN-4 "Jenny" at Kelly Field, Texas, 1918. Charles Dorsey Album.

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