5 Canine Heroes Who Distinguished Themselves on the Frontlines
By: Denise Shelton
Tags: World War I, World War II, Dogs, History, Heroes

5 Canine Heroes Who Distinguished Themselves on the Frontlines

These pups were more than just mascots

Airedale terriers trained by Lt Col Edwin Hautenville Richardson for service in World War I (Getty Images, fair use)

“Cry ‘Havoc!’, and let slip the dogs of war.” — Mark Antony in William Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar

As far back as ancient Rome and beyond, man’s best friend has accompanied him onto the battlefield. Here are the stories of five of the most celebrated warrior dogs of the 20th century.

Sergeant Stubby — World War I, United States Army

Sergeant Stubby, a hero of World War I (public domain)

Sergeant Stubby (1916–1926) was a stray dog of uncertain parentage, possibly part Boston Terrier. In July of 1917, members of the 102nd Infantry Regiment (United States) found him wandering the campus of Yale University where they were training. Stubby was friendly with all the soldiers, but one in particular, Corporal James Robert Conroy (1892–1987) took a special liking to him and took responsibility for his care.

Conroy hid Stubby beneath his overcoat when he boarded a troopship bound for France. Luckily, the soldiers had taught Stubby to salute, so when Conroy’s commanding officer discovered the stowaway, Stubby showed him proper respect. This persuaded the officer to let Stubby stay with the men.

General John Pershing presents Stubby with a gold medal from the Humane Education Society in 1921 (public domain)

Stubby served with the 102nd for eighteen months in the battlefield trenches of France. He participated in four offensives and seventeen battles. His first taste of combat was on February 5, 1918, at Chemin des Dames, where his regiment was under constant fire for more than a month. Stubby was wounded in the foreleg by a German hand grenade and convalesced with the rear guard.

When Stubby recovered from his wounds, he returned to the trenches. The army issued him a specially designed gas mask to protect him from mustard gas attacks. But Stubby was more than just a mascot and morale booster. He located wounded soldiers in no man’s land and used his superior canine hearing ability to detect incoming missiles, barking to warn his fellow soldiers.

Sgt. Stubby’s brick at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City, Missouri (image via wikipedia.org)

Stubby was once again wounded by an exploding grenade, this time in the chest and leg. He received sole credit for capturing a German spy in the Argonne, earning him a promotion to the rank of Sergeant. For his injuries, Stubby was awarded two wound stripes (a precursor to the Purple Heart). He was the most decorated dog of World War I. At the end of the war, Conroy smuggled Stubby home again.

Promotional graphic for the animated film “Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero.” (fair use)

Sergeant Stubby would go on to meet three U.S. presidents, lead many military parades, appear on the vaudeville stage, and be adopted as the Georgetown Hoyas’ team mascot.

After he died in 1926, the New York Times printed a half-page obituary recounting his life and accomplishments.

Robert Conroy donated Stubby’s preserved remains to the Smithsonian Institution in 1956. In May 2018, Conroy’s descendants donated a life-size bronze statue called “Stubby Salutes” to Veterans Memorial Park in Middletown, Connecticut.

Stubby’s life has been the subject of at least four books and a 2018 animated film.

Rags — World War I, United States Army

Undated photo of Rags (public domain)

Rags (1916–1936) was a mixed breed terrier found on the streets of Paris, France, by Private James Donovan, an A.E.F. signal corps specialist serving with the U.S. 1st Infantry Division. Donovan said he named him Rags because he looked like a pile of rags lying in the gutter when he first saw him.

Donovan had been marching in the Bastille Day parade and was late getting back to his unit. To avoid being considered Absent Without Leave, Donovan told the military police that Rags was the 1st Division’s mascot and that he was part of a search party to retrieve the “missing” dog.

A view of the Montmartre district of Paris where Donovan found Rags, c. 1910 (public domain)

Donovan’s job was to repair telephone lines damaged by shelling. Until the lines were fixed, the army usually assigned men to carry messages, but they were often killed or wounded in the process. Donovan trained Rags to carry written messages attached to his collar, eliminating the need for human runners. The task was safer for Rags because he could more easily get around shell holes and through barbed wire.

In July of 1918, Donovan and Rags were with an infantry unit of forty-two men surrounded by Germans. Rags carried a message that led to the group’s rescue. In another incident on October 2, 1918, Rags carried a message from the 1st Battalion of the 26th Infantry Regiment to the 7th Field Artillery that led to securing the Very-Epinonville road, saving many soldiers’ lives.

Cover of a picture book about Rags by Margot Theis Raven (fair use)

On October 9, 1918, Rags successfully delivered a critical message, despite being partially blinded by shrapnel and inhaling mustard gas when his gas mask slipped off. His friend Donovan was seriously injured in the same attack.

Although Rags quickly recovered, Donovan’s condition worsened and he was sent back to the United States for treatment. Members of the 1st Infantry smuggled Rags out of France so that he could stay with his friend. Donovan was treated at the military hospital at Fort Sheridan in Chicago. Sadly, he never recovered from his wounds and died there early in 1919.

1930s newspaper clipping showing Rags and Maj. Raymond W. Hardenbergh (public domain)

Major Raymond W. Hardenbergh and his family adopted Rags in 1920. He accompanied the Major on his various postings and was reunited with the 1st Division on Governors Island in New York harbour in 1924.

Rags became a celebrity in New York. Numerous newspapers and magazines carried his story and at least two books were written about him. He marched down Broadway with the 1st Infantry in a parade commemorating the 10th anniversary of World War I.

Rags spent the rest of his life with the Hardenberg family at Fort Hamilton in Brooklyn, NY. He is buried in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Jack — World War I, British Army

Lt. Colonel Richardson at the British War Dog School at Shoeburyness in 1940 (public domain)

When World War I broke out in 1914, the British Army had only one dog in service, an Airdale Terrier trained by Lieutenant Colonel Edwin Hautenville Richardson as a sentry. Richardson does not mention the dog’s name in his book British War Dogs: Their Training and Psychology, but he does say that the Airedale gave its life when a shell exploded along the Aisne River in France.

Richardson convinced the British Army of the value of using dogs to carry messages because of their stamina, agility, speed, and intelligence. He established the British War Dog School in Shoeburyness, Essex, England, and began training dogs for use in combat.

Richardson found that the best dogs under fire were Airedale Terriers and terrier mixes. As the war progressed, Richardson’s program's success led to high demand for military dogs. The British government appealed to the public to donate their family pets and many responded. Soon there were thousands of dogs attached to the British Army. They acted as sentries, messengers, and the Red Cross sometimes used them to transport medical supplies and find wounded soldiers.

“I’ve given my husband and my sons, and now that he too is required, I give my dog.” — letter from an Englishwoman volunteering her dog for active duty in World War I

Among the dogs Richardson trained was a dog named Jack, killed in the line of duty in 1918. In a BBC interview, Alastair Petrie, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Territorial Army told Jack’s story. He said that Jack’s battalion was totally cut off, surrounded by shell-holes and barbed wire. They sent Jack to summon reinforcements. “No man could get through the environment, and their one chance was Jack,” Petrie said.

A dog handler of the Royal Engineers reads the message that has just been brought to him by his messenger dog. The dog has just swum across a canal to deliver the message, near Nieppe Wood, 1918. (Image via nationalgeographic.co.uk)

“A piece of shrapnel smashed his jaw, but he carried on, and another shell tore open his coat right down his back, and he kept on going. Finally, his forepaw was shattered, but he dragged his body for the last three kilometres. There was the glaze of death in his eyes when he reached headquarters, but he’d done his work — he’d saved his battalion.” (NOTE: I was unable to substantiate the details of Petrie’s story, but it was typical of the heroics performed by the war dogs of World War I.)

It is estimated that 20,000 dogs had served in the British Army by the end of World War I. Richardson went on to train dogs for service in World War II.

Chips-World War II, United States Army

German shepherd mix Chips, seen at left getting a treat during WWII, was honoured with a medal in a London ceremony attended by John Wren, right, whose family donated their dog to military service from 1942 to 1945. (Image via insideedition.com)

Chips (1940–1946) was a German Shepherd mix whose owner John Wren donated him for military service during World War II. Chips was sent to the War Dog Training Center in Front Royal, Virginia, in 1942 for training as a sentry dog.

The army assigned Chips to the 3rd Infantry Division in North Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany.

In 1943, Chips and his handler Pvt. John P. Rowell were pinned down on the beach by an Italian machine-gun team during the invasion of Sicily. Chips jumped into the pillbox and attacked the gunners who then surrendered to US troops. Despite sustaining a scalp wound and powder burns, he helped take ten Italians prisoner later that day.

Chips meets with General Dwight D. Eisenhower

Chips received the Distinguished Service Cross, the Silver Star, and the Purple Heart. Unfortunately, Army policy prevented the official commendation of animals, and his awards were later revoked. His unit unofficially awarded him a theatre ribbon with an arrowhead for an assault landing, and battle stars for his eight campaigns.

Chips was discharged in 1945 and was reunited with the Wren family. Sadly, he died seven months later due to complications from his war wounds. Chips was posthumously awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal in 2018 and the Animals in War & Peace Medal of Bravery in 2019.

Sergeant Gander — World War II, Canadian Army

Gander with an unidentified soldier in Canada (Image via cdnhistorybits.wordpress.com)

Perhaps one of the most moving stories of canine heroism is that of Gander, a 130-pound New Foundland who had originally been a family pet named Pal. When Pal accidentally scratched a child’s face, his owners, the Hayden family, were afraid he would have to be put down, so they gave him to soldiers at nearby CFB Gander.

The soldiers renamed him Gander and he became the mascot of The Royal Rifles of Canada who “promoted” him to sergeant. When they shipped out to defend Hong Kong from the Japanese in October of 1941, he accompanied them. According to Gander’s handler Rifleman Fred Kelly, Gander liked to beat the heat with frequent cold showers and was also fond of beer.

Gander en route to Hong Kong with Infantrymen of “C” Company, Royal Rifles of Canada, October 27, 1941 (Image via cdnhistorybits.wordpress.com)

The Battle of Hong Kong began on December 8, 1941, the day after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Gander proved to be a ferocious defender of the men in his unit. Whenever a Japanese soldier would get near, he would attack him and nip at his heels. Since most of the battles occurred at night, Gander’s black colouring made him hard for the enemy to see clearly.

The Japanese later questioned Canadian prisoners of war about the “black beast.” Apparently, they were so impressed by Gander’s tactics, they wondered if the Canadians had been breeding ferocious animals for use in warfare.

Gander’s true moment of glory came in the wee hours of the morning of December 19th at the Battle of Lye Mun. An enemy hand grenade landed among a group of seven wounded Canadian soldiers that Gander was guarding. Without hesitation, Gander picked up the grenade in his mouth and raced back toward the Japanese. In saving those men’s lives, he gave up his own when the grenade exploded.

Video via YouTube

The Battle of Hong Kong ended on Christmas Day with the victory going to the Japanese. In addition to Gander, Canada lost 290 men. All 1,685 surviving soldiers were taken as prisoners of war (POWs).

On October 27, 2000, the People’s Dispensary for Sick Animal posthumously awarded Gander the Dicken Medal for Gallantry. His former handler Fred Kelly accepted the honour with a New Foundland dog at his side.

Inspiring stories of war dogs are not just a thing of the past. In 2018 a dog named Kuga and in 2020 a dog named Kuno were awarded Dicken Medals for their service in Afghanistan.