Smoky ( dog ) Smoky ( c . 1943 – 21 February 1957 ) , a Yorkshire Terrier , was a famous war dog who served in World War II . She weighed only and stood tall . Smoky is credited with beginning a renewal of interest in the once obscure Yorkshire Terrier breed . Biography . Arrival story . In February 1944 , Smoky was found by an American soldier in an abandoned foxhole in the New Guinea jungle . She was already a young adult Yorkie ( fully grown ) . The soldiers initially thought the small dog belonged to the Japanese , but after taking her to a nearby prisoner - of - war camp they realized she did not understand commands in Japanese or English . Another GI then sold Smoky to Corporal William A . Wynne of Cleveland , Ohio , for two Australian pound s ( equal to $ 6 . 44 at that time ) — the price paid to the seller so he could return to his poker game . Smoky ' s record in World War II . For the next two years , Smoky back - packed through the rest of the war and accompanied Wynne on combat flights in the Pacific . She faced adverse circumstances , living in the New Guinea jungle and Rock Islands , suffering the primitive conditions of tents in equatorial heat and humidity . Throughout her service , Smoky slept in Wynne ' s tent on a blanket made from a green felt card table cover ; she shared Wynne ' s C - ration s and an occasional can of Spam . Unlike the " official " war dogs of World War II , Smoky had access to neither veterinary medicine nor a balanced diet formulated especially for dogs . In spite of this , Smoky was never ill . She even ran on coral for four months without developing any of the paw ailments that plagued some war dogs . As described by Wynne , " Smoky Served in the South Pacific with the 5th Air Force , 26th Photo Recon Squadron [ and ] flew 12 air / sea rescue and photo reconnaissance missions . " On those flights , Smoky spent long hours dangling in a soldier ' s pack near machine gun s used to ward off enemy fighters . Smoky was credited with twelve combat missions and awarded eight battle star s . She survived 150 air raids on New Guinea and made it through a typhoon at Okinawa . Smoky even parachuted from in the air , out of a tree , using a parachute made just for her . Wynne credited Smoky with saving his life by warning him of incoming shells on an LST ( transport ship ) , calling her an " angel from a foxhole . " As the ship deck was booming and vibrating from anti - aircraft gunnery , Smoky guided Wynne to duck the fire that hit 8 men standing next to them . In the down time , Smoky learned numerous tricks , which she performed for the entertainment of troops with Special Services and in hospitals from Australia to Korea . According to Wynne , Smoky taught him as much as he taught her , and she developed a repertoire beyond that of any dog of her day . In 1944 , Yank Down Under magazine named Smoky the " Champion Mascot in the Southwest Pacific Area . " Smoky ' s tricks enabled her to become a hero in her own right by helping engineers to build an airbase at Lingayen Gulf , Luzon , a crucial airfield for Allied war planes . Early in the Luzon campaign , the Signal Corps needed to run a telegraph wire through a pipe that was in diameter . Soil had sifted through the corrugated sections at the pipe joinings , filling as much as half of the pipe , giving Smoky only four inches of headway in some places . As Wynne himself told the story when he appeared on NBC - TV after World War II : Smoky ’ s work prevented the need to have approximately 250 ground crewman move around and keep operational , 40 United States fighters and reconnaissance planes , while a construction detail dug up the taxiway , placing the men and the planes in danger and possibly the peril of destruction by enemy bombings . What would have been a dangerous three - day digging task to place the wire was instead completed by this little dog in minutes . After the War . At the end of their return , Wynne and Smoky were featured in a page one story with photographs , in the " Cleveland Press " on December 7 , 1945 . Smoky soon became a national sensation . Over the next 10 years Smoky and Wynne traveled to Hollywood and all over the world to perform demonstrations of her remarkable skills , which included walking a tightrope while blindfolded . She appeared with Wynne on some of the earliest TV shows in the Cleveland area , including a show of their own on Cleveland ' s WKYC Channel 3 called " Castles in the Air " , featuring some of Smoky ’ s unbelievable tricks . Smoky performed in 42 live - television shows without ever repeating a trick . Smoky and Wynne were also very popular entertainers at the veterans ' hospitals . According to Wynne , “ after the war Smoky entertained millions during late 1940s and early 1950s . " On February 21 , 1957 , " Corporal " Smoky died unexpectedly at the approximate age of 14 . Wynne and his family buried Smoky in a World War II . 30 Caliber Ammo Box in the Cleveland Metroparks , Rocky River Reservation in Lakewood , Ohio . Nearly 50 years later , on Veterans Day , November 11 , 2005 , a bronze life - size sculpture of Smoky sitting in a GI helmet , atop a two - ton blue granite base , was unveiled there . It is placed above the very spot that Smoky was laid at her final resting place . This very special monument is dedicated to “ Smoky , the Yorkie Doodle Dandy , and the Dogs of All Wars " . Memorials honoring Smoky . There are 6 Memorials honoring Smoky , nationally : Additionally , the annual Yorkshire Terrier National Rescue ( YTNR ) " Rescues of the Year " are given the " Smoky Award " in honor of this famous rescue . Smoky was also honoured by being awarded the PDSA Certificate for Animal Bravery or Devotion in April 2011 . First therapy dog . According to an Animal Planet investigation , Smoky was the first therapy dog of record . Her service in this arena began in July 1944 at the 233rd Station Hospital , in New Guinea , where she accompanied nurses to see the incoming battlefield casualties from the Biak Island invasion . Smoky was already a celebrity of sorts , as her photograph was in " Yank " magazine at the same time , which made it easy to get permission . Dr . Charles Mayo , of the famed Mayo Clinic , was the commanding officer who allowed Smoky to go on rounds and also permitted her to sleep with Wynne in his hospital bed for five nights . Smoky ’ s work as a therapy dog continued for 12 years , during and after World War II . Yorkie Doodle Dandy . " Yorkie Doodle Dandy : Or , the Other Woman Was a Real Dog " , is a book authored by Bill Wynne . It is the memoir of his time with Smoky during World War II and thereafter . It features highlights of their service in the Pacific and their adventures in Hollywood , as well as advice on dog training , Yorkshire Terrier FAQ s , and more . Yorkie Doodle Dandy takes the reader through the chronological order of World War II ' s progression and the author ’ s daily life with Smoky . The book tells the story of how Smoky was given a promotion to " Corporal " and even explains how this Yorkshire Terrier ended up in New Guinea . Angel in a Foxhole . Wynne has announced privately that his next book , Angel in a Foxhole , is in the works . Nothing further is known , however the book has been confirmed .