Sinbad ( USCG ) Sinbad ( born ca . 1937 , died 30 December 1951 ) was a mixed - breed dog , facetiously described as " a canine sailor " with rank " Chief Dog ( K9C ) " and status " USCG , Retired " , who " served 11 years sea duty in the United States Coast Guard , including combat in World War II aboard the " . Brought aboard by a sailor who had intended him as a gift to a girlfriend , he was nevertheless said to have " never had an owner or master " . A biography was written for him , and contrasted with an assertion that " no Coast Guardsman [ was ] the subject of a biography until the dawn of the twenty - first century . " Coming aboard . Sinbad ' s birth is not recorded , but he was obtained by Chief Boatswain ' s Mate A . A . " Blackie " Rother of the USCGC " George W . Campbell " , who intended the dog as a gift for a girlfriend . She did not take him in due to a restriction against pets in her apartment building , leaving Rother with the dog as he returned from liberty in 1937 . The crew said the dog displayed " the attributes of a sailor " by drinking coffee , whiskey with beer chasers at port bars , having " regular and general quarters duty station s " , and " generally demonstrating seamanship " . They claimed he " was enlisted into the service " with his pawprint on enlistment papers , " his own service and Red Cross identification numbers , service record , and bunk " . He was also recorded as a member of the Society of Polar Explorers . They held mock military disciplinary proceedings against him on two occasions , was claimed he had been promoted and demoted in rank on several occasions . They credited him as retaining the rate of " Chief Petty Officer - Dog , K9C , USCG , ( Ret ) " following his supposed retirement . Presence in combat . Sinbad was aboard the USCGC " George W . Campbell " throughout World War II while the cutter was assigned to convoy escort duty in the Atlantic . Although publicity photos depicted Sinbad standing helmeted on the barrel of a large gun , he actually stayed below decks with a " general quarters duty post assigned to damage control " , keeping him away from the sound of gunfire . The " Campbell " ' s most significant action involved combat with , and sinking by ramming of , the German submarine " U - 606 " . After the cutter suffered severe damage , becoming disabled and without power due to flooding , " essential crew " were left aboard the otherwise evacuated ship to keep it afloat as it was towed to Canada for repair , and Sinbad travelled with them . Someone claimed that Captain James Hirschfield believed that nothing could befall the ship if the dog remained aboard . A statue of Sinbad is on the mess deck of current " famous class " medium endurance cutter , successor to the preceding " Cambell " . Sinbad was aboard during other anti - submarine warfare and strafing attacks by enemy aircraft . Sinbad was described as having earned the following awards : American Defense Service Medal , American Campaign Medal , European - African - MiddleEastern Campaign Medal , Asiatic - Pacific Campaign Medal , World War II Victory Medal and Navy Occupation Service Medal . Public Relations . Sinbad became a public figure through media attention first garnered by his presence in bars in ports of call . He also frequented Red Cross facilities such as his alleged favorite in Londonderry , where he was also the guest of honor at a dinner in Guild Hall . New York papers featured the story of the clash with " U - 606 " , though without photographs as Sinbad was sequestered below after a night on the town . The " Boston Globe " ' s Martin Sheridan described Sinbad in a December 1943 Life Magazine story as " liberty - rum - chow - hound , with a bit of bulldog , doberman pinscher , and what - not . Mostly what - not " , which appealed to blue collar and farm town America . Photo sessions and network news interviews when the " Campbell " was in port served the home - front morale effort and gave Sinbad nationwide recognition . His celebrity further increased following the end of the war and the publication of George F . Foley ' s " Sinbad of the Coast Guard " , whose book - signing tour Sinbad accompanied ; he was described as " the first Coast Guardsman to be the subject of a biography " . The dog had gotten in trouble in port towns where the crew went on liberty , and was not always cooperative at public relations events . He is described as causing " international diplomatic incidents " in Casablanca and Greenland . Retirement . After spending 11 years with the " Campbell " < nowiki > ' < / nowiki > s crew , mostly at sea , Sinbad was taken ashore at the Barnegat Light station in New Jersey , and said to be " honorably discharged from the Coast Guard on 21 September 1948 " , and on " inactive duty " . Once described by " Life Magazine " as " an old sea dog [ who ] has favorite bars and plenty of girls in every port " , Sinbad lived another three years quietly ashore , supposedly frequenting Kubel ' s bar on Seventh in Barnegat Light and looking out to sea from the station . He was also long known for playing with a metal washer that he balanced on his nose ( much as his statue on the later Campbell balances a rawhide bone ) , tossed in the air , and caught . Sinbad died on 30 December 1951 and was buried beneath a granite monument at the base of the light station ' s flagpole . The decommissioned station has since become the Emergency Operations Center for Barnegat Light .