On this day 62 years ago a small, former Moscow street dog became a worldwide celebrity. That fame came at the cost of her life. On November 3, 1957, Laika became the first creature from earth to enter space. As part of the Soviet space program she was one of numerous formally homeless dogs used in their test program. Because of her photogenic nature, she became the darling of the press in all of their propaganda.

I was given this cute, but tragic book about the dogs that were used in the Russian side of the effort to break the ties to Earth and take the first steps beyond our planet. It is an interesting but gut-wrenching look at how our best friends were helpless participants in one of the greatest competitions of modern times, the space race.