The article below consists of short biographies of two very noble dogs.

Sergeant Stubby: This canine made his owner and country proud and left behind a legacy that both men and dogs could do well to emulate. Stubby was promoted to Sergeant because of his exploits in combat during WWI.

Stubby’s journey to eventual stardom started when he was found in 1917 on the Yale campus by John Conroy. Stubby lived for 20 years, his pedigree is debatable but he is generally considered to be a bull terrier. Stubby arrived in wartime France with Conroy’s unit. He was smuggled by his owner aboard the USS Minnesota.

In France, Stubby saw action with the 102^nd Infantry. He took part in an incredible four offensives and 17 battles over a period of 18 months. Stubby received a wound in the foreleg from hand grenade shrapnel. He was sent behind the lines for convalescence and he returned to the trenches when he recovered. Stubby offered invaluable service by warning his unit of poison gas attacks and impending artillery fire. His dog ears were able to hear the whine of the artillery shells much before humans did and he was a useful advance warning system. His heroics include the capture of a German spy and locating wounded soldiers in no-man’s land.

After the war Stubby led a relatively quiet life as Conroy’s pet. He attended Georgetown University with his master and also took time out to take part in parades across the country and shake a paw with Woodrow Wilson and Calvin Coolidge.

Smoky: A female Yorkshire terrier that stood a mere seven inches tall and weighed four pounds. She was found in an abandoned foxhole in New Guinea by an American soldier. She changed hands for two Australian pounds and became the property of Corporal William Wynne.

Smoky took part in twelve battle missions and won eight battle stars. Her most famous achievement was in helping engineers build an air base at Lingayen Gulf, Luzon. Smoky waded though a seventy foot pipe half-filled with sand with a telegraph wire attached to her collar. Smoky achieved in minutes what would have taken the engineering team three days to achieve. It also meant that 40 United States Fighter and Reconnaissance planes did not have to be moved from the taxiway; doing this would have exposed them to enemy planes.

Smoky is credited as being the first dog on record to have been used as a therapy dog. She continued with her therapy work even after the war. Smoky broke the mould in that she was a lap dog but with her efforts she achieved what most dogs bred for labor and hardships can scarcely hope to achieve.

Smoky has monuments to it in Eastlake and Columbus, Ohio and, Missouri, Hawaii, and in Tennessee.

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