Dogs in War
“The Spirit of Patriotism is the Spirit of the Dog” – Mark Twain
Stubby was heavily decorated in WWI.
Dogs are often depicted as loyal and courageous. They guard their stuffed raccoon, the tiny piece of rawhide they’ve swallowed and regurgitated multiple times, and the blanket you haven’t been able to wash for a year. But give them an imaginary burglar and they’ll guard you with their lives.
It isn’t surprising, then, that dogs also guard our country. “Official” dogs have been working in the military in the U.S. since the Seminole Wars but dogs have been used in war since ancient times. Sometimes sent into battle, they were most often used for guarding. A Pit Bull Terrier named Stubby, pictured above, rose to the rank of Sergeant in WWI. Some 4,000 dogs were used in the Vietnam War and are estimated to have saved over 10,000 human lives.
In modern wars, Scout Dogs walk out front for the unit, looking for booby trap trip wires, ambushes, hidden caches of food or weapons, and snipers. Messenger Dogs carry messages. Trackers follow ground (blood trails, body odor etc.) or airborne scents in order to locate missing personnel, such as downed pilots, wounded GI’s, or the enemy. And Sentry Dogs detect and detain.
Many different breeds have been used in war. The Pugnaces Britanniae, a progenitor to the Mastiff, was used in ancient Rome. In Vietnam, the German Shepherd and the Lab were mostly used. In WWII, among the 32 breeds used were the Am Staff, the Dobie, the Newfie, and the Great Dane.
But, regardless of breed, some dogs stand out. “Sallie,” a brindle Staffordshire Bull Terrier, was the regimental mascot for the 11th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. At one point, she got separated from the unit. She returned to the Union battle line at Oak Ridge and stood guard over the dead and wounded. Sallie died in battle and is memorialized at the 11th Pennsylvania monument at Gettysburg.
Stubby was never hindered by being a Pit Bull. Instead, he became the mascot and member of the 102nd during WWI, saving hundreds of lives. In fact, he became the most decorated war dog in history. And, though not famous on the big screen like his granddad, Rin Tin Tin’s grandpup was a decorated soldier and trainer for dogs in WWII.
I, personally, don’t want to see our dogs on the warfront just as I wouldn’t want my dog to take a bullet for me, so this reflection of their place in war’s history is just that – a reminder that they’ve served us both near and far, gladly. Do we deserve this? No, we don’t. Sending them into a solution that we, as humankind, have concocted, something they have no concept of, is unconscionable. Dogs don’t know war. But they do know loyalty and courage and the desire for everything to be right.
Perhaps we could avoid war if, like them, we would concentrate on guarding the important things, the things closer to home and to our heart, like the love of our families and our right to autonomy. Oh, and also, that bone buried in the backyard.
