Remembering: The Beginning of The K9 Corps

March 13, 1942 the US Army begins training dogs for the newly created War Dog Program, or K9 Corps. By the fall, dogs were being trained for the other services as well.

Initially over thirty breeds were accepted, but it was eventually narrowed down to just seven: German Shepherds, Belgian sheep dogs, Doberman Pinschers, collies, Siberian Huskies, Malamutes, and Eskimo dogs. Since then a few breeds have been selected to join the ranks as well.

After basic obedience training, which lasted eight to twelve weeks, the dogs were sent to one of four specialized programs to prepare them for work as sentry dogs, scout or patrol dogs, messenger dogs and mine detection dogs. In active combat duty, scout dogs proved especially essential by alerting patrols to the approach of the enemy and preventing surprise attacks.

Chips, a German Shepherd attached to the 3rd Infantry Division, became the top canine hero of WWII. He had been trained as a sentry dog, but when his handler became pinned down he broke free and attacked a machine gun nest. The Germans manning the gun surrendered when faced with the dog. Chips was wounded in the attack, and was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross, Silver Star and the Purple Heart. Sadly all were revoked due to an Army policy preventing commendations of animals.

Using dogs in war did date back before WWII. In WWI alone, it is estimated that over a million dogs saw use as messengers, or simple psychological comfort for soldiers. In 1918 US troops found an abandoned German shepherd puppy, and named him Rin Tin Tin. He would become a movie star, and made the breed famous across the USA.