Honoring Military Dogs for K-9 Veterans Day

Dogs are great for many reasons. They’re lovable, loyal, funny, comforting, and compassionate – to name a few qualities. Dogs are also brave, which has been viewed as an honorable characteristic by humans for thousands of years. Dogs have been companions of soldiers for a very long time, fighting alongside their human warriors, carrying messages, and standing guard. In honor of K9 Veteran’s day, here is a list of some of the most heroic K9 soldiers to date.

Stubby

Stubby was a Boston Bull Terrier and is one of the most well-known military canines. He was a stray before he wandered onto an Army training center in New Haven, Connecticut in 1917. After Private First-Class Robert Conroy took Stubby in, he ended up on the front lines of World War I. He was a part of 17 battles, detected gas and alerted soldiers, located injured men on battlefields, learned drills and bugle calls, and how to tell English soldiers apart from Germans. He took part in parades, met three presidents, and received dozens of awards, including a Purple Heart. Stubby died in 1926, but his coat is on display at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History. (Source: 1)