{"id":5105,"date":"2014-06-07T02:25:14","date_gmt":"2014-06-07T02:25:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=5105"},"modified":"2014-06-07T12:22:37","modified_gmt":"2014-06-07T12:22:37","slug":"d-day-dogs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.gypsydogops.com\/?p=5105","title":{"rendered":"D-Day Dogs"},"content":{"rendered":"

Before German Shepherds, Belgian Shepherds, and Beagles became the standard breed for the military and police dogs, the U.S. Army and Marine Corp asked average Americans to\u00a0loan their pets to the war efforts.\u00a0During World War II, not long after the attack on Pearl Harbor, the American KennelClub and a new group calling itself “Dogs for Defense” mobilized dog owners across the country to donate quality animals to the Quartermaster Corps. It is mind blowing to me to try to imagine a time when beloved house dogs, donated by a patriotic public, saved soldiers’ lives in combat, but they did!<\/p>\n

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At first more than thirty breeds were accepted.\u00a0 The military quickly figured out that Great Danes were too big, Dalmatians were too easy to spot (get it, spot), and \u00a0hunting dogs were easily distracted. The military\u00a0later narrowed the list down to German Shepherds, Belgian Sheep Dogs, Doberman Pinschers, Farm Collies and Giant Schnauzers.<\/p>\n

In all, a little over 19,000 dogs were procured between 1942 and 1945 (about 45% of these were rejected as unsuited for training). The\u00a0Quartermaster Corps trained the dogs to be sentry\u00a0dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs, mine dogs, and bunker dogs:<\/p>\n

Sentry Dogs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Worked on a short leash and were taught to give warning by growling, alerting or barking. \u00a0They were especially valuable for working in the dark when attack from cover or the rear was most likely.\u00a0 The sentry dog was taught to accompany a military or civilian guard on patrol and gave him warning of the approach or presence of strangers within the area protected.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Scout or Patrol Dogs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the skills listed for sentry dogs, scout\/patrol dogs were trained to work in silence in order to aid in the detection of snipers, ambushes and other enemy forces in a particular locality.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Messenger Dogs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The most desired quality in these dogs was loyalty, since he must be motivated by the desire to work with two handlers. They learned to travel silently and take advantage of natural cover when moving between the two handlers. (A total of 151 messenger dogs were trained.)<\/p>\n

<\/strong>Mine Dogs<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Called the M-Dog or mine detection dog they were trained to find trip wires, booby traps,\u00a0 metallic and non-metallic mines. (About 140 dogs were trained. Only two units were activated.\u00a0 Both were sent to North Africa where the dogs had problems detecting mines under combat conditions.)<\/p>\n

Bunker dogs<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Don’t know what that is?\u00a0This America Life<\/a> has an episode about Animal Sacrifice<\/a>.\u00a0 Skip to: Act 1 – Semper Fido<\/strong><\/a> at \u00a05:00. If you are a dog lover, a history buff, or just a lover or a good compelling story – take 20 minutes and listen to this story. They explain what a bunker dog is as well as tell the story of what happened to “Fluffy” once you loaned your beloved pet to the military for service in the Dog Defense program.<\/p>\n

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Dogs For Defense Letters<\/p><\/div>\n

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Dogs For Defense letters<\/p><\/div>\n

On D-day, dogs were there when the Allies liberated Normandy. The dogs served as message carriers, scouts, and vital night security, and were constantly employed during the operation of securing and extending the beachhead.<\/p>\n

On D-day, the British dropped parachuting dogs or “paradogs<\/a>” onto the beaches. \u00a0How do you get a\u00a0dog to jump out of a plane and parachute to the ground? With a steak of course.<\/p>\n

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It is amazing what dogs will do to please their master or get a steak! A children’s book was published documenting a famous, heroic parachuting dog named\u00a0Bing<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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During World War II, the British Army trained dogs to jump out of airplanes with soldiers. This crossbred Collie, Rob, reportedly made 20 jumps and took part in the North African landing. Here, the paradog is presented with the Dickin Medal for animal gallantry in Feb. 1945. There is even a children’s book about him: Rob the Paradog.<\/p><\/div>\n

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The idea picked up steam in the years to follow. Here, a piece in Popular Science magazine from November 1935 discusses Soviet experiments with parachutes for dogs.<\/p><\/div>\n

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After the war, the military declassified this War Department\u00a0video that shows an overview of the\u00a0work done by Army dogs in World War II. \u00a0<\/p>\n