July 12, 2019 | Julie (Stagis) Bartucca '10 (BUS, CLAS), '19 MBA - UConn Communications

The Good Boy of UConn

Jonathan XIV answers your questions about UConn's top dog, with assistance from handler Marie-Claire 'M.C.' Meadows '20 (CLAS).

Jonathan XIV at the UConn 360 studios, with one of his handlers, APO Husky Committee co-chair Marie-Claire “M.C.” Meadows ’20 (CLAS). (UConn Photo)

Jonathan XIV answers your questions about UConn's top dog, with assistance from handler Marie-Claire 'M.C.' Meadows '20 (CLAS). (UConn Photo)

If there’s one thing all UConn fans can agree on, it’s our love for Jonathan the Husky.

Jonathan XIV at the UConn 360 studios, with interviewer Julie Bartucca. (UConn Photo)
Jonathan XIV at the UConn 360 studios at Lakeside, with interviewer Julie Bartucca. (UConn Photo)

The husky dog mascot was originally chosen through a survey in the student newspaper, The Connecticut Campus, in 1934. A student contest then resulted in naming the mascot Jonathan, for Jonathan Trumbull, Connecticut’s Revolutionary War-era governor.

The University has had a live canine mascot ever since, and the top dog’s care has been entrusted to service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega since 1970. The current mascot, Jonathan XIV, was born on Oct. 5, 2013, and assumed his official duties in August 2014, after the retirement of his brother, Jonathan XIII.

The black-and-white, purebred Siberian Husky and one of his handlers, APO Husky Committee co-chair Marie-Claire “M.C.” Meadows ’20 (CLAS), a global health major, stopped by the UConn 360 podcast studios to answer fans’ questions about UConn’s top dog.

Listen to the interview with Julie Bartucca of UConn 360 podcast:

 

For full episodes of the UConn 360 podcast, visit uconn.edu/uconn360-podcast.