The Dogs of Rundlet-May

James Rundlet May’s love of animals is apparent throughout the Rundlet-May House in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. From the prints of dogs on the walls, to sideboard hardware in the form of cat’s heads in the dining room, and especially the family pets’ collars that appear throughout the house. May became a founding board member of the New Hampshire Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, a post his son Ralph maintained. A pet cemetery on the grounds of the house contains many of the May’s animals and even a songbird named Sunny Boy.