GI pets

[arve]

In my Dad's WWII photos, there are lots of pictures of him with a dog.

I asked Ma about it and she told me: "The dog's name is Sally and she attached herself

to your father at Anzio". HUH? How can you have a dog in the middle of a war zone??

 

Then I noticed "Sally" was in photos with Dad taken in Rome. How'd she get from Anzio to Rome? Dad had told my mother that somehow Sally always managed to find him amidst thousands of other GIs and that his buddies always got a kick out of it. He also said

that while walking along a road, a Nazi plane strafed their column and he dove into

a ditch & Sally dove in on top of him. Dad got some kind of injury

to his leg, but it must've been minor & they were both OK.

 

When I got to Dad's pictures in France - there was Sally again. C'mon!!! What'd she

do? get on an LST as part of the invasion of Southern France???

 

Sure enough, I found several grainy photos of Sally & you can see she's on a boat ramp

with water on either side. In one of them (I can't locate the scanned photo at the moment),

she's looking at my father holding the camera with almost an asking expression. Like

she's saying: "Can I go too?" Well, clearly the answer must've been "yes".

How in the heck did he manage THAT???

 

I don't know what happened to Sally when dad came home in March '45.

It must've been another loss & heartache for him to leave her behind.

 

Here's Dad with Sally at Anzio & Rome and Sally getting on board for Aug 15th invasion.

 

Anyone else know of GIs with pets in theater?

 

Mary Ann

[Dogdaddy]

Thanks for sharing those pictures with all of us..they're great! On many of the WWII documentaries (in both theaters) I have seen GI's and Sailors with a dog..usually sharing the chow with them or just petting them. That is when you really see the boy inside the man.

 

Cheers!

Dogdaddy, and a special thanks from Molly!

[Walt's Daughter]

The men were allowed dogs and if you look in some of the regimental and divisional books that the units printed at the end of the war, you will find dogs listed as mascots within their pages. The dogs went everywhere with the men; from city to city, campaign to campaign. Very common.

 

There are pictures posted on our main site, and there in all their living glory as the

 

Here's a few photos for your viewing pleasure.

 

The first photo is from Carl Furtado of the 36th Engineers. More to come...

[Walt's Daughter]

Here's a good pic. Gene Fiducia, 631st Engineer and their mascot, Snafu. Great name huh? Gene went back to Europe about ten years ago and sat in the same exact spot in Belgium.

[chambers]

My grandad has a photo of himself standing in the road holding a small package wrapped up in paper. He said that he had just walked into town to buy some turkey from a deli for their dog. But he doesn't have any photos of the dog. I think it is really funny because my grandpa didn't become a dog person until much, much later in life. Perhaps he was all along and just didn't want anyone to know.... :blob3:

 

B

[Dogdaddy]

The war was no doubt terrifying to these dogs and I'm sure it was comforting to be adopted by a warm GI, and the comfort ran two ways! No matter where you go, dogs are still dogs (Thank God). Great photos Marion!

 

 

Dogdaddy

[206thmpco]

These dogs must've been such great comfort to the men.

 

Many of them probably left their own dogs behind when they went to war.

 

My grandmother wrote my father a letter & said: "Jack's been just terrible.

He took off & came back filthy dirty and won't mind us at all".

 

I said to my mother: "Good Heavens! Who is this man Jack?"

Ma said: "Jack wasn't a man, he was your father's dog ". Ha!!

 

So pets at home felt the effects of War as well.

 

Brooke - that's an interesting story about your granddad.

I always thought my father didn't care too much for our pets.

He'd say to my mother: "Helen, why do we all have ALL these pets!" as

he was feeding half his lunch to our Airedale Ginger .

When we had to put her down, he wouldn't come with us.

Later, I saw him out in the backyard pretending to be working - but

he was really out there crying.

Sometimes I wonder if he was a bit afraid to get attached to a pet.

Our calico cat was especially fond of him. He'd always try to act nonchalant

about her, but when no one was around, I'd hear him talking away to her & calling her

"Mousekie" (his pet name for her).

 

Here's a picture of the disobedient "Jack" in front of my grandparents house in 1942.

 

Marion - those pictures are GREAT!

Dogdaddy - give Molly an extra treat today!

 

mary ann

[Walt's Daughter]

Gee, isn't it funny how something strikes you?! I never thought about the dogs left at home. It just didn't come to me. Can you imagine all the MASTERS that went overseas and the dogs that were left behind? They were all thinking, "Where's my dad?" Awww, how sad! Poor doggies.

[Dogdaddy]

Gee, isn't it funny how something strikes you?! I never thought about the dogs left at home. It just didn't come to me. Can you imagine all the MASTERS that went overseas and the dogs that were left behind? They were all thinking, "Where's my dad?" Awww, how sad! Poor doggies.

 

 

But ya' know something Marion...dogs are so darn resilient that they adapt to major changes (including Dads ) much, much easier than we do...at least that's been my experience. Take Molly for instance. Here she is 10 years old and needing to find a new home...Two weeks together and she was happy as a clam to be my 'Pup! To anybody that didn't know, it's like we've been together since puppyhood. That's just one thing in a list of millions of things I love about dogs!

 

[206thmpco]

You're exactly right about a dog's resiliency. My little brown mini poodle

Lexie was my dear Aunt Mary's dog. She was 80 when she lost her dog Lacey

and was afraid she was too old to have another. I said "No way Aunt Mary!

You definately should have another dog!" and I promised her that if anything were

to happen to her - I'd take care of it.

 

Lexie was a year old when she got her from people who could no longer keep her.

She was such a fabulous loving companion for my Aunt! Whenever I'd go visit her

in Narragansett, she'd say to Lex: "Mary's comin today Lex!" and as soon as

I'd pull in the driveway, they'd both come out to greet me.

 

When she was 85, my wonderful Aunt was diagnosed with a glioblastoma - a very

aggressive brain tumor. We had hospice & also nurses so she could stay in her home & I drove back & forth to RI several times a week. One day, the nurse called me at work and

told me to come right way because my Aunt was totally unresponsive with low pulse

& respiration. I'll never forget walking into her room, my Aunt was lying there so still & pale and Lexie was lying on the pillow with her two front paws protectively covering the top of Aunt Mary's head.

Lex had a look of terror & distress on her face and I 'm

absolutely convinced that she knew where the tumor was.

I bent down & whispered: "I'm right here with you, Aunt Mary" and she immediately

opened her eyes, smiled & said " Hi Mary!". Well, the nurse was so startled she almost fell over and as soon as Lexie heard Aunt Mary's voice - she left her 'guard post" and

started wagging her tail. I think that my Aunt was able to hear my voice that day because of her love for me & mine for her.

 

When my Aunt died, there were many people who said that'd be glad to take Lexie,

but I couldn't do that. I'd never be sure that she'd be cared for as my Aunt would want.

I wasn't sure how I was gonna manage a dog, working full time, & taking care of my mother who was also ill - but I was determined to fulfill my promise.

What a blessing that little dog has been! She was a great companion to my mother. When I

left for work, I'd say: "Now, take care of Ma today, Lex" and she'd go over and sit next to

her. It was so sweet & amazing! My mother would always laugh & say: "She loves me, but

she's completely YOUR girl!" and I'd say "Yeah, but if Aunt Mary walked through the door

tomorrow - she'd drop us BOTH like a hot potato!".

 

Lex is now almost 13 & blind & she has health "issues". People would probably

think I'm crazy, but I spend all my available time with her - after work & weekends.

It's very very small recompense to her for all the love she'd given. I have an enormous dog

bed that I take outside with me & she sits on it like a Queen, feeling the breeze & the sunshine. I'm taking "one day at a time" with her, as long as she's not suffering & enjoying

her life - but I know you'll understand completely when I say I can't help but look at her

& feel the dread of losing her.

 

They are such wonderful creatures! How can anyone not love them? That's why

I'd like to get ahold of the Michael Vicks of the world & say: "Sit down in this chair and

LET ME PLUG IT IN!!!! "