[Sharon]

The war dogs of WWI were quite remarkable. They were trained to search the battlefield or in the trenches and pick out who among the men were wounded and who were dead.

The dogs were trained to make their search at night, under the cover of dark, unattended, navigating the terrain quickly and soundlessly. Barking to alert could potentially draw enemy fire, so if the dogs found a wounded man, they knew to pull off a piece of cloth or a loose helmet and carry it back to their handlers so a rescue attempt could be made. The handler would then leash the dog and follow as the dog led him back to the wounded man.

They were so incredibly well-trained and so committed to their task that these dogs weren't deterred or distracted by the offer of food or company. They saved many soldiers, though perhaps not as many Americans as they might have - the United States was woefully behind other countries in utilizing dogs during WWI and had to make do by borrowing the medic dogs of their allies.

It's estimated that there were upwards of 10,000 Red Cross dogs used during WWI, and they're credited with saving thousands of lives over the course of the war.

The stories that came out of this time are particularly harrowing and it's more than just the hearthside story-telling cadence in which they're told. One of the more comprehensive books about this time was drafted by Sgt. Theo F. Jager, titled Scout, Red Cross and Army Dogs: A Historical Sketch of Dogs in the Great War and a Training Guide for the Rank and File of the United States Army.

In it, he relays a story from the front (also found on this most excellent blog, Dog Law Reporter, which is a true cornucopia of all things canine): Lieutenant von Wieland led a party of men in an attack on the Russian trenches. Seeing the task hopeless on account of the Russian fire, he, wounded, sent back the men who had set out with him and lay there in the blood and muck and filth of the battlefield: The Russian fire was so murderous that no one dared bring him in. Presently a dark form bounded from the German trenches, rushed to Lieutenant von Wieland's side, grasped his coat between his teeth and, foot by foot, dragged him to safety. Once, but only for a moment, did he loosen his hold, and that was when a bullet creased him from shoulder to flank. The blood gushed from the wound, but the dog took a fresh hold and finished his job at the edge of the trench where willing hands lifted the lieutenant down to safety. They had to lift the dog down, too, because just then a bullet broke both his forelegs.

Dogs are still used to this day to aid people.

A therapy dog is a dog trained to provide affection and comfort to people in hospitals, retirement homes, nursing homes, schools, hospices, disaster areas, and to people with learning difficulties.

An assistance dog is a dog trained to aid or assist a person with a disability. Many are trained by a specific organization, while others are trained by their handler (sometimes with the help of a professional trainer).

A psychiatric service dog is a specific type of service dog trained to assist their handler with a psychiatric disability, such as post-traumatic stress disorder or schizophrenia.

A medical response dog is a service dog trained to assist an individual who has a medical disability. Typically, they are dogs whose job does not handle primarily epilepsy or psychiatric-based conditions, though some seizure response dogs or psychiatric service dogs may also be referred to as medical response.

Dogs are still widely used within search and rescue, the military and police for many various reasons such as bomb disposal and drug detection, finding people trapped under rubble, etc, etc.

See also
http://www.documentingreality.com/fo...9-11-a-133727/
http://www.documentingreality.com/fo...ic-dogs-88380/
http://www.documentingreality.com/fo...s-later-39574/

[TwistedSisterr]

heroic little fellas
as sensitive and smart as dogs are, I wonder how all that death would affect them....

[CrunchyCripple]

They get depressed very easily. When they used dogs at the towers after 9/11. They planted live people for the dogs to find, because finding nothing but dead bodies was really doing a number on them. :(

[kellyhound]

[TwistedSisterr]

Originally Posted by CrunchyCripple ↗

They get depressed very easily. When they used dogs at the towers after 9/11. They planted live people for the dogs to find, because finding nothing but dead bodies was really doing a number on them. :(

I would imagine so, if anyone has ever seen the movie Hatchi, they would understand why Im asking. Bless their beloved little souls

[Faline]

[Cancun78]

Originally Posted by TwistedSisterr ↗

heroic little fellas
as sensitive and smart as dogs are, I wonder how all that death would affect them....

Good documentary about animal emotion,*Why dogs*smile & chimpanzees cry.

[TwistedSisterr]

Originally Posted by Cancun78 ↗

Good documentary about animal emotion,*Why dogs*smile & chimpanzees cry.

Thank You! Im gona grab my kleenex and check it out!