| The History of War Dogs |
| War dogs are dogs that have been specifically trained to assist soldiers in their duties during war. War dogs are not a new phenomenon. War dogs can be traced as far back as Biblical times. The early Greeks and Romans placed spiked collars around the dog's necks and sent them out to attack their enemies. During the Middle Ages, war dogs were outfitted in armor and were used in defense of traveling caravans. North American Indians used packs of dogs for sentry duty. European countried have known for centuries what Americans seemed to have just recently realized - dogs make good soldiers. In early America, dogs were considered for use in the French and Indian Wars, but no action was taken. The first officially recorded use of dogs by the Army was during the second Seminole War. Five handlers and thirty-three cuban-bred bloodhounds were used to track Seminole Indians and runaway slaves in the swamps of Florida and Louisana. The second recorded use of dogs used in America was during the Spanish-American War in 1898. Teddy Roosevelt and his Roughriders' horseback patrols used dogs in the dense jungles of Cuba. It wasn't until 1918, during World War I, that the US considered again, utilizating dogs in wartime battles. At the recommendation of the American Expeditionary Forces, personnel investigated the possibility of dogs being trained to fulfill positions as sentries, messengers, patrol aids, and to assist with special supply missions. For whatever reason, the "higher-ups" decided againt the use of dogs in the military at that time. Though war dogs were not being utilized by the military at this time, one dog stood on his own during World War I. A bull terrior, by the name of Stubby, had wandered on and around the training area at Yale Field, in New Haven, Conneticut. He watched as the men drilled day in and day out. The men begin to befriend the dog until he had won the heart of all the ranks. Corporal Robert Conroy hid Stubby on the troop ship when he was deployed to France. Stubby served eighteen months in the military and was part of seventeen different battles on the Western Front. Stubby saved his regiment by catching a German spy who had snuck into camp while the men were sleeping. Stubby also helped to locate and comfort wounded soldiers until the medics could reach them Stubby became a National hero. He "shook hands" with President Woodrow Wilson. He was made an honorary sergeant by the Marines and he was made honorary member of the Red Cross, the American Legion, and the YMCA. Stubby became the mascot of Georgetown University in 1921. Stubby lived a long and adventurous life. He died on April 4, 1926. In 1941, at the onset of Pearl Harbor, the Army was the only branch of the military using dogs to assist them with duty, and these dogs were in limited use. Fifty dogs were assigned to military stations in Alaska. The dogs were deployed only after weather conditions were so severe that horses, mules, and motorized vehicles could not make it through to their destinations. In 1942, the Dogs for Defense was established by a body of individual trainers and breeders who all possessed a vision to see dogs serve alongside our men in the military. The use of dogs in the military was still not a very well liked idea, but soon after the Dogs of Defense came into play, the Quartermaster General sought permission from the Secretary of War to accept dogs, without cost, from the American Theatre Wing War Service. The Army was still unable to see the larger picture regarding the dogs and sought to place them for use in conjunction with guards at civilian war plants and Quartermaster depots. The original number thought to be sufficient was around 200 dogs. When dogs begun to being used by the military more than thirty breeds were accepted. The list was narrowed to include German Shephards, Belgian Sheep Dogs, Doberman Pinschers, Farm Collies, and Giant Schnauzers. Requirements called for the dogs to be of neutral color, such as gray, tan, or salt and pepper. Height and weight has fluctuated over the years, but in the initial stages of war dog training, dogs were required to be between 20 and 26 inches tall at the shoulder and weigh between 40 to 80 pounds. Between 1942 and 1945, 19,000 dogs were assimilated, out of which 45% were rejectecd as "unsuited" for training. With this setback, the Quartermaster Corps placed the War Dog Program in its Plant Protection Branch of the Inspection Division. It was decided that the only use for dogs within the military would be to assist guards on post at civilian war plants and so the troops were returned to guard duty.. In August of 1942, the first War Dog Reception and Training Center was established at Front Royal, Virginia. In the few years that followed, five more training sites were established across the US: Fort Robinson, Nebraska; Camp Rimini, Montana; San Carlos, California; Cat Island, Gulfport, Mississippi; Beltsfille, Maryland; and Fort Belvoir, Virginia. The Quartermaster trained both the dogs and the handlers, most of whom were Quartermaster soldiers. These early trainers were responsible for the doctrine that is now used for training across the board. The centers at Front Royal and Fort Robinson were located at permanent remount installations, while the others were independent establishments. Camp Rimini was located in the Rocky Mountains where dogs were trained in snowy conditions for use as sled and pack dogs. Cat Island, which has a semi-tropical climate and dense vegetation was used for tactile training in jungle warfare preperation. 9,300 dogs were trained for sentry duty. Trained sentry dogs were issued to military organizations such as harbor defense, arsenals, ammunition dumps, airfields, depots, and industrial plants. The largest group of sentry dogs, 3,174, were trained in 1943 and were issued to the Coast Guard for beach patrols who were guarding against enemy submarine attacks. The scout dog and his handler normally walked point on combat patrols, well in front of the infantry following them. Scout dogs could often detect the presense of the enemy at distances of up to 1,000 yards a way. When a scout dog was alerted to enemy presence it would stiffen its body, raise its hackles, prick his ears up, and hold his tail rigid. A total of 436 scout dogs saw service overseas. The dogs used in World War II were returned home and underwent a time period of "demilitarization." The dogs were re-trained to believe that every human being was a friend. After completing this training, the dogs were offered initially back to their original owners. If the owners wanted the dog returned, it was done at Government expense. If the owner did not want the dog returned, the dog was offered for sale to prospecitve homes. |