War Dogs the Forgotten Heroes

During this time of remembrance I wanted to talk about something a little different. Did you know that dogs were trained to help out on the war fronts of WW1 and WW2 along with the Korean War, and Vietnam War etc.

Alongside our men and woman there were brave dogs specially trained to search out the enemy hiding in the bush, detect mines and booby traps, alert troops in foxholes at night to approaching danger, and to carry messages, ammunition and medical supplies. In these battles, as in their training, the men learned to depend on their dogs and to trust their dogs' instincts with their lives. The USA started training dogs for war after the tragedy at Pearl Harbor. At the height of World War II more than ten thousand dogs from the United States, plus thousands of Red Cross dogs from many nations were in action. Before being sent overseas, dogs were stationed in army camps where they received an intensive twelve-week training period, usually as sentry and patrol "soldiers." Out of the thousands who were "signed up" for duty, seven breeds were found to be most suitable - Belgian shepherds, German shepherds, collies, Airedales, Dobermans, giant schnauzers and Rottweilers. The Great Danes and Mastiffs were also selected as good watchdogs. Most of the dogs were found from locals, donated to the war efforts from their homes.


It is sad though to say that most of the dogs when returned overseas were “disposed” of. Our dogs, primarily Doberman Pinschers and German Shepherds, were thought to have the “junkyard dog” syndrome, they were killers, and it was too timely and expensive to re-train them. Captain William W. Puteny D.V.M lobbied for the right to detrain these dogs and won. The program of deindoctrination was overwhelmingly successful. About 95% of the dogs that came back from war were able to retrained and returned to civilian life.. Pets that were once household pets became household pets again! In many cases, in fact, because the original, civilian owners were unable or unwilling to take the dogs back, the dogs went home with the handlers that they had served so well during the war.

With the end of the 'War To End All Wars,' about 7,000 dogs were thought to have lost their lives, this figure is probably low, based on the total number of dogs used by all sides. Some reports cited German loses alone at over 7,000 and a United States Veterinary Corps history stated 16,000 battle deaths.

It is amazing to think that Man’s Best Friend truly was Man’s Best Friend during the wars of our life time. For me I give nothing but thanks to these forgotten heroes of the war, the warm blooded canines who kept our men warm in the trenches, who sniffed out bombs to keep our men’s feet safe, whose hearing was so great they could hear the enemy sneaking up on the trenches, the ones who could locate the wounded hidden in deep brush, the muscles that pulled food and ammunition to the troops through winter blizzards and the one who would not stop digging because he heard the Germans coming up from underneath the building! These dogs deserve a minute of silence this Remembrance day