Arthur Haggerty

Captain Arthur Haggerty (December 3, 1931 – July 3, 2006), was an American actor and self-described pioneer in the field of dog training. Biography Born in The Bronx on December 3, 1931, it is said that Captain Haggerty made dog training the respected profession it is today. Raised in the Bronx while other children played stick ball, he begged his parents to take him to dog shows. He had an affinity to Boxers, Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds. He wanted to become a show dog handler. During his three combat tours in Korea, he served as the Captain of the K9 Corps. His illustrious record as a Ranger in the United States Army included a Congressional Commendation and a Bronze Star. After returning from Korea, in 1961 or 1962, he opened Tri State School for Dogs then eventually renamed it Captain Haggerty's School for Dogs. His school grew into the largest dog training school on the east coast and had a celebrity clientele that included: Liza Minnelli, Walt Frazier, Flip Wilson, Terry Shields, Leona Helmsley among others. In the early 1970s he began supplying dogs for film, television and Broadway. In the Burt Reynolds' movie Shamus, not only did they use his dogs for many scenes, the producer loved his look and put him in front of the camera. He became known as Mr. Clean with his bald head and blue eyes. Some of his movie credits include: Married to the Mob, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Last Dragon and a memorably gruesome appearance in the opening scenes of director Lucio Fulci's horror classic Zombi 2 as a rotting, shambling zombie that attacks a coast guard officer on a derelict boat. His television credits include guest appearances on various talk show such as The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, The Morton Downey Jr. Show and David Letterman where he and his dog students appeared 26 times pioneering Stupid Pet Tricks.