Honoring Our K-9 Heroes on K9 Veterans Day
According to the United States Army, "In January 1942, members of the American Kennel Club and other dog
lovers formed a civilian organization called Dogs for Defense. They
intended to train dogs to perform sentry duty for the army along the
coast of the United States. Aware of this effort, Lieutenant Colonel
Clifford C. Smith, chief of the Plant Protection Branch, Inspection
Division, Quartermaster Corps, met with his commander, Major General
Edmund B. Gregory, and suggested that the Army use the sentry dogs at
supply depots. Gregory gave his approval to an experimental program, and
on March 13, 1942, Under Secretary of War Robert P. Patterson approved
Gregory's application and created the K-9 Corps."
Did You Know?
Siberian Huskies and their cousin the Malamutes, were among the working breeds who served as war dogs during World War II?
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The War Dog Ambassador was a Siberian Husky named "Buck?"
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Siberian Huskies make wonderful Therapy Dogs?
"BUCK" THE WAR DOGS AMBASSADOR ~ DOD MARCH 23, 2006
Photo courtesy of WarDogWall.com
"CHIPS" A WWII MILITARY WORKING DOG
Photo by Herson Whitley. Permission Courtesy of Mary Ann Whitley.
It was my pleasure to connect to Herson Whitley's daughter,
Mary Ann, who gave me permission to use her father's photo above of Chips, a
Husky/German Shepherd/Collie mix, who was the first dog to ship overseas as a
Military Working Dog in WWII. He belonged to the Wren Family from
Pleasantville, NY. When WWII broke out, U.S. families volunteered their pet
dogs into the service as part of the K-9 Corps. Overseas, he trained as a
sentry dog and assigned to a Military Police platoon and traveled throughout
Europe, and saw fighting in Africa and Sicily. While he served on many
missions, he is best known for when he attacked enemy troops who were in a
pillbox shelter in Sicily, and even though he was wounded himself, he rushed
into the shelter and bravely fought by biting the enemy troops, until they
surrendered. Chips even met General Eisenhower!
"When
Pearl Harbor was attacked on December 7, 1941,the United States
inventory of military working dogs consisted of only 90 Siberian Huskies
and Malamutes. These dogs were used as pack and sled dogs for rescue
in areas of the world where motorized equipment could not go."
The U.S. War Dogs Association is taking donations of much-needed items for our canine heroes working abroad. Please click HERE to see what is needed and where to send them, and be sure to mention the FiveSibes sent you over!
In the summer of 2015, as part of New York's The Empire State Snow Dogs Club first Canine Epilepsy Awareness Fundraiser and Expo (stay tuned for a post about that day), a booth for donations to the U.S. War Dog Association was set up, and posters were sent by Ron Aiello of The War Dog Association. Here is a pic of my Epi-dog (now furangel) Gibson with the box of donations collected by The Empire State Snow Dog Club, of which I'm a proud member, and in front of the official U.S. War Dog Association poster!
FiveSibes Proudly Supports
K9 Veterans Day!
K9 Veterans Day!
© Dogs For Defense K-9 www.dfdk9.com
K9 Veterans is being officially recognized by more and more states in the U.S. Talk to your state representative to have your state recognize this holiday. There is a petition to make K9 Veterans Day a national holiday and honor these brave canine service dogs. To sign the petition, please visit HERE.
For updates and info, you can check the National K9 Veterans Day Facebook page HERE.
I definitely celebrate these heroes and the book sounds great. About 10 years ago I watched a documentary about dogs who served in Vietnam. Many were family dogs that people volunteered for service. Tragically, when the U.S. pulled out many of these heroes were left behind ...the movie haunted me for 10 years. So sad
ReplyDeleteimagined it certainly would. Thankfully, today, there are groups that help bring these K9 heroes back home. Thanks for stopping by!
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