Dog Diaries 07 - Stubby (11 page)
Dogs worked in the American Civil War as mascots and message carriers. Yet in 1917, when Stubby was smuggled aboard the SS
Minnesota
, there were no dogs serving in the U.S. Army.
Stubby wasn’t the only unofficial canine participant in the Great War. Rags was a French stray adopted by the Eighteenth Infantry Division. He carried messages behind enemy lines and, like Stubby, warned of gas attacks. Dogs like Stubby and Rags paved the way for war dogs in years to come.
After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1942, breeder organizations like Dogs for Defense campaigned for the official use of dogs in the military. They encouraged owners to donate their working dogs to the war effort—preferably German shepherds, Doberman pinschers, collies, Belgian sheepdogs, Alaskan malamutes, and huskies. With the help of the American Kennel Club, they raised funds to train and recruit a formidable canine force. But the demand for war dogs was greater than Dogs for Defense could handle. That’s
when the military pitched in with the War Dogs Program. By 1943, the two groups cooperated to draft over 10,000 dogs. The dogs were trained to serve in various capacities: as sentries, attackers, scouts, pack and message carriers, casualty seekers, and mine sniffers. But unlike Stubby, none of these dogs were desensitized in advance to the noise of gunfire. As a result, many cowered at their first exposure to battle. Fortunately, most of them eventually grew accustomed to the noise. Ever since, desensitization to gunfire is one of the first lessons a canine military recruit learns.
Dogs have played key roles in every modern war, from Korea to Desert Storm to the war in Iraq. War is an unpleasant and regrettable fact of life, but dogs continue to offer their invaluable assistance to the military, loyally and obediently following their soldier handlers into the fray without
a moment of hesitation or a woof of complaint.
For information on the history of U.S. war dogs, go to:
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jbmf.us
More About the American Staffordshire Bull Terrier
Stubby was a street dog with no papers—a mutt. But some believe that, based on his looks and behavior, he was probably an American Staffordshire bull terrier mix. In England, the Staffordshire bull terrier came about as a result of breeding the bulldog with the Manchester terrier. Originally bred to bait bulls, the bulldog had strength and tenacity. The terrier had agility and high spirits. The result is an agile, shorthaired, medium-sized dog with
great strength for its size and a never-say-die attitude. Farmers in the Staffordshire region of England found it useful as an all-purpose farm dog. The breed first came to America in the 1870s and was accepted in the American Kennel Club in 1936 as the American Staffordshire bull terrier. Ranging from fourteen to sixteen inches and weighing anywhere from twenty-four to thirty-eight pounds, the American “Staffy” is heftier than its British cousin. It is loyal, intelligent, eager to please, has a sense of humor, and loves people, particularly children. It is important to note that the breed tends to be very protective of its loved ones.
For more information about this wonderful breed, go to:
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akc.org/breeds/staffordshire_bull_terrier/index.cfm
Owning an American Staffordshire Bull Terrier
These dogs often get a bad rap. Because of their strength and history as bull baiters, some people use these dogs (and dogs with similar physical traits) for the illegal and abusive practice of dog-fighting. Dogs trained to fight other dogs understandably have trouble mixing in everyday life. But when properly trained and socialized, this breed can make a first-rate pet. Just ask any loving family who owns one. They’ll tell you that Staffies—or AmStafs—are, in the noble tradition of Sergeant Stubby, affectionate, intelligent, brave, gentle, funny, loyal, and possessed of an emotional makeup that is uncannily near-human.
For more information on owning or rescuing an American Staffordshire bull terrier, visit:
Stubby and Miss Louise Johnson in 1921 in the Humane Education Society parade
