Use of Dogs in War Hasn't Changed All That Much Since the Great War

By SFC Brock Jones

Over the course of our deployment, many of our Soldiers have published photos, articles and video stories about military working dogs here in in Afghanistan. SGT Chloe Barnes produced a video story about a dog getting some dental work done in Kandahar. SPC Ariel Solomon took photos of a ceremony in which a dog and its handler were given Army medals for their service in Regional Command-South (right).  As I write this, a handler and her dog live a few doors down the hall from us in our barracks here on Bagram Airfield, and whenever the dog is in the hall you can also count on there being a crowd of people waiting for a turn to play with the retriever.  

The contribution of military working dogs has been great both here in Afghanistan and in Iraq. But the use of dogs, and a variety of other animals including pigeons, horses, camels, donkeys, etc., in war is certainly not new. In fact, during World War I, animals in general were used in unprecedented levels, and dogs were used by the militaries on both sides of the conflict in a greater variety of ways than we use them now. Today, the military uses working dogs in two general areas: improvised explosive device detection and in police work, such as finding drugs and detaining personnel. 

Below are photographs (including captions) from a fantastic piece of journalistic curation published by the Atlantic which presents  World War I in a variety of photographic collections, including the one these photos come from called "Animals at War." I find the photos so engaging because they show some of the many uses of dogs during the Great War, and because I can't help but think that even though 100 years separates us from the men and dogs shown in the photos, we all have shared and continue to share a particular soft spot for our canine friends who have been with us on the world's battlefields during the major wars in our history.

Bandages retrieved from the kit of a British dog, ca. 1915 (Library of Congress)

Sergeant Stubby was the most decorated war dog of World War I and the only dog to be promoted to sergeant through combat. The Boston Bull Terrier started out as the mascot of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division, and ended up becoming a full-fledged combat dog. Brought up to the front lines, he was injured in a gas attack early on, which gave him a sensitivity to gas that later allowed him to warn his soldiers of incoming gas attacks by running and barking. He helped find wounded soldiers, even captured a German spy who was trying to map allied trenches. Stubby was the first dog ever given rank in the United States Armed Forces, and was highly decorated for his participation in seventeen engagements, and being wounded twice. (Wikimedia Commons)

A messenger dog with a spool attached to a harness for laying out new electric line in September of 1917. (National Archive/Official German Photograph of WWI)

A dog-handler reads a message brought by a messenger dog, who had just swum across a canal in France, during World War I. (National Library of Scotland)