Smiley Pete was more than Lexington’s beloved pup. He became a canine legend
Editor’s Note: As Lexington celebrates the 250th anniversary of its founding, the Herald-Leader and kentucky.com each day throughout 2025 will share interesting facts about our hometown. Compiled by Liz Carey, all are notable moments in the city’s history - some funny, some sad, others heartbreaking or celebratory, and some just downright strange.
Jan. 22, 1943: Smiley Pete, Lexington’s most beloved pup, is born.
Well, maybe not EXACTLY on Jan. 22, but sometime in 1943, the legendary “Conman Canine” was born. It’s rumored he wandered away at an early age until his owner gave up on keeping him at home.
Smiley Pete set up his new home on the sidewalks of downtown Lexington between Main and Limestone streets. Over the next 13 years or so, Pete patrolled the streets, begging for food from local business owners.
His day usually included a breakfast of hamburgers and waffles from Brandy’s Kitchen, then lunch on UK’s campus, and an afternoon beer at Elliston’s Turf Bar, dinner of actual dog food and water at Carter’s Supply Co., and a Hershey bar at Paritz’s Short & Lime Liquor Store.
While many tried to adopt him, Smiley Pete always ended up wandering around Lexington, hitting up his favorite spots for snacks and beer. A rabies epidemic in 1949 got him off the streets for a while at the Del-Tor Clinic on Southland Drive.
In 1957, Pete was diagnosed as being “allergic to chocolate,” and both the Lexington Herald and the Lexington Leader implored Lexingtonians to stop feeding him his beloved treat. During another rabies epidemic that year, Pete returned to Del-Tor to quarantine, but suffered a heart attack and died.
Pete was buried on North Broadway under a headstone that read “Pete – Our Dog – A Friend to All – A Friend of All.”
You can find a commemorative marker to his honor at the corner of Limestone and Main Street. Not a bad day to drop by, raise a glass to the old pup and maybe leave a Hershey bar or two.
This story was originally published January 27, 2025 at 1:00 PM.
