13 States Have Official State Dogs, is Michigan One of Them?

Most of us learned all about Michigan's state symbols back in elementary school but I'll be the first to admit I'm a little out of practice.

We've got an official state bird (robin) , state fish (trout), and even a state mammal (white tailed deer), but do you remember state dog being on that list?

Get our free mobile app

I only ask because after a recent round of pub trivia I found myself wondering this very thing. The original trivia question was in regards to Pennsylvania and their official state dog breed, the Great Dane, but I think this is the first time I even realized a state even could have an official state dog!

In fact, only 13 states have designated an official state dog in addition to Maine, the only state to have an official cat (Maine Coon)!

Mutts of Michigan

In April 2021 Michigan House Representative Padma Kuppa (D-Troy) re-introduced a previous resolution from 2019 to designate shelter animals as the official state pet of Michigan. Kuppa says she was inspired to create the bill by the students in her district and she wanted to call attention to euthanasia rates among shelter animals.

The 2021 bill was referred to a Committee on Government Operations. If passed, Michigan would join states like California, Tennessee, Ohio, and Oklahoma who have all declared shelter animals as official state pets.