Guest Post: Stubby's Story

Stubby's Story From stray to war hero to Georgetown University mascot.

Not too shabby for a homeless little Pit Bull found ranging around the Yale campus in the early days of the U.S. involvement in World War I, Stubby's name is one of the better known in the history of the American Pit Bull Terrier — America's breed.

Found and befriended by a private named John Robert Conroy in the 102nd Infantry Battalion of the 26th Yankee Division, the brindle, crop eared dog charmed his bunkmates and the other soldiers with his dedication to duty, learning to answer the bugle calls, drill routines and the day to day schedules and doings of an army camp. Stubby even learned to salute with the other soldiers, right paw over his right eye.

When time came to muster out, Pvt. Conroy and Stubby's fellow soldiers smuggled the littlest soldier onto the transport. Once aboard the S.S. Minnesota and out at sea, the stowaway's presence was revealed and he added the sailors on board the ship to his partisans. A ship's machinist made him a set of tags — dog tags. Once off the ship, Pvt. Conroy's commanding officer discovered his extra soldier. Stubby won the CO over, just as he had the soldiers and sailors. The salute likely had more than a little to do with it. Stubby was allowed to accompany the 102nd to the front lines as their mascot.

Stubby showed his true mettle at the front lines. More than a mascot, he was a comrade and a soldier — a courageous one whose bravery and feats would make him one of the most recognized soldiers of the war, as well as a highly decorated one. Two acts stood out among his exploits; the capture of a German spy and saving his company in the trenches from a German gas attack.

The little dog had been wounded earlier, by shrapnel and from exposure to gas. The previous exposure to the gas made him sensitive to it and he was intelligent enough to make the connection between the gas and his own discomfort and realize it was a danger. The morning attack would have caught the company asleep in the trenches if Stubby had not detected the approaching gas and run up and down the trenches, barking and tugging at the soldiers to awaken them in time to get to safety. Stubby was also credited with giving the all clear, not going back to his trench until the gas was clear.

His habit of patrolling the “no man's land” to find wounded American soldiers led to his capture of the German spy. Evidently he heard noise and found the spy hiding in some brush, making a map of the Allied territory. When the spy tried to call the dog to him Stubby began barking. The German broke from the bushes and ran and Stubby pursued him, biting at his legs until he fell, then biting his arms and finally grabbing him by the posterior and hanging on until some Allied soldiers, hearing the ruckus, came to investigate and found a German spy in the custody of the Pitbull. The capture earned Stubby his stripes — and we know him today as Sgt. Stubby.

Sgt. Stubby visited the White House twice, meeting Presidents Harding and Coolidge. He led a military review parade with his comrades and met President Wilson. General Pershing presented him a medal for heroism and later had his photograph taken with the General; he earned membership in the American Legion and the Y.M.C.A., received many military decorations and won popular acclaim as an American hero.

When Conroy mustered out and enrolled at Georgetown University, Stubby went too and became the Hoyas' school mascot, performing at halftime, running and shoving the football around the field while the crowd cheered.

Later in his life, he posed for a portrait by the famous American portraitist, Charles Ayer Whipple. Not bad for a stray Pitbull. An American Pitbull.

Now there are whole cities and counties where he would be barred, where being what he is would be a sentence of exile or death. Brought to you by Tammie Bronser of www.pet-super-store.com: Where you can find Dog Kennels and GPS Tracking Collars.

Rescue a Doggy-Meet Bebo

Bebo
Male , 8 years , 9 lbs

Bebo was found wandering the streets in West Virginia and was taken to animal control where his time was up, so we brought him into rescue. He was skinny and scrawny but, with plenty of good food, he has started to look and feel better.This little boy seems so grateful to have a place to stay and food to eat, and he walks around like he can't believe his good luck after being on the streets for so long. His hair is starting to grow in nicely and, soon, his outside will be as beautiful as his inside. Adoption fee is $200. If you are approved ( YOU MUST COMPLETE AN APPLICATION prior to contacting a foster home and MUST BE APPROVED prior to adopting a dog. Please read our Adoption Process and our Adoption Policies prior to completing your application) contact Jen: 717… or jenquigley@gmail.com.

Funny Dog Video

Funny Dog Video

You are a Total Dog Nut if:

Buddy's Dog Joke: You are a Total Dog Nut if:

You believe every dog is a lap dog.

If you are cold, you put a sweater on your dog.

You have a picture of your dog in your wallet, but not one of your kids.

You have your dog talk to your friends on the phone.

No matter how large your bed is it's not large enough for you and your dogs.

You spend more on clothes and food for your dogs than you do for yourself.

You have no reservation about kissing your dog on the lips, even though you don't know where his lips have been.

You believe it is your duty to talk to, pat and even feed every dog in the neighborhood. You know their names.

You let the neighbor dog sleep over.

You sit on the floor if the dog got in the chair first.

You talk to your dog when you are driving. He answers.

Housetraining Puppy Tip

Harley's Dog Tip: Housetraining Trick

Most people who have raised puppies, have had housetraining issues at some point. Here's a tip to help your little one know "where to go."

Next time you have to clean up your puppy's accident, use a paper towel. Then take the soiled paper towel outside to where you want your puppy to do his "business." Put the paper towel down in that spot. Next time you take your puppy out to potty, take him to that spot. The smell of the soiled paper towel will remind him and encourage him to potty there and not in your house.

Til next week,

Guest Post:Heel to the Chief

Heel to the Chief

There have been First Dogs in the White House since, well, since before there was a White House. Time and history has set many of our Presidents apart from us, especially those in the infancy of the U.S., upon pedestals, making them seem larger than life, but somehow the notion that they shared their lives with their pets — and gave some of them silly sounding or reassuringly normal names — brings them closer to being human like we are, rather than the demigods they sometimes seem to be. Normal humans doing great things.  

George Washington kept hounds, as did many of his contemporaries. The names he gave his hounds, three Staghounds and four Black and Tan Coonhounds were colorful: Vulcan, Scentwell and Sweetlips were the Stags and Tippler, Taster, Tipsy and Drunkard the Black and Tans, leaving room for conjecture that President Washington indulged in punning. A version of the black and tan we're familiar with was known then, made with porter and pale ale. Mopsey, Cloe, Forester, Captain, Lady and Rover were also hounds.

The first dogs to live in the White House were John Adams' pair. Their breeds are unknown today, but we do know their names: Juno and Satan, interesting choices! Hopefully they helped President Adams stay warm at night. When they moved into the White House, it was unfinished and was cold and drafty. He probably needed another dog; winters were cold in Washington DC then.

Thomas Jefferson had two Briards, gifts from General Lafayette, one's name is lost to history, the one we know was named “Buzzy,” not a name we associate with that period of history. President Jefferson also is said to have had a pet mockingbird, perhaps a humorous reminder to himself to keep his perspective.

John Quincy Adams isn't recorded as having a pet dog, but it seems he did have an alligator, possibly the forerunner to today's Secret Service agents.

Martin VanBuren seems to have continued the trend during his tenure with a pair of tiger cubs. Congress convinced him they belonged in the zoo.

Tyler, like a good husband, imported a pair of Italian Wolfhounds for his wife; his Greyhound was a gift from the Italian consul.

Millard Fillmore deserves special attention. He isn't recorded as having any pets, but he became a founding member and president of the Buffalo chapter of the ASPCA

.During the challenging and lonely days of his impeachment, Andrew Johnson sought comfort by setting out flour each night for a family of mice.

Newfoundlands resided at the White House during the tenures of James Buchanan (Lara) and Ulysses S. Grant (Faithful). Faithful belonged to Jesse Grant, along with a yard of gamecocks. Buchanan also kept a small herd of elephants!

James Garfield named his dog “Veto,” possibly a harbinger of things to come.

True to his rural background, Abe Lincoln had an assortment of pets living on the White House grounds. Ponies, goats, a turkey, a pet pig and two dogs, Fido and Jip, shared city life with the former farm boy turned politician.

Rutherford Hayes also brought the farm to the city, along with a more esoteric pet. He kept pedigreed Jersey cows — no doubt the White House had the best cream and butter for state banquets — along with a goat, carriage horses, cats, a pair of hunting dogs, a spaniel, two Shepherd dogs named Nellie and Hector and the first Siamese cat in America. He also kept a mockingbird, presumably well out of the way of the cats.

Mockingbirds keep making appearances at the White House. Grover Cleveland was another Chief Executive to have them as a pets, along with his wife's canaries and her Japanese Poodle, Hector and his own dogs, a Dachshund and a Cocker Spaniel.

LBJ was a colorful President, and the one to unabashedly own a mutt, found abandoned at a gas station by one of his daughters. The little dog's name was Yuki and President Johnson let him entertain visiting state officials. There are photos of the little dog standing on the President's lap, head thrown back “singing” along with his master while state visitors look on, smiling. The big President from Texas also had a pair of beagles, “Him and Her.”

The most famous of all presidential dogs may have been a vice-presidential dog, Checkers. Then Vice President Richard Nixon's “Checkers speech” made his political career, snatching triumph from the brink of disaster. One short paragraph humanized the man, touched listeners and changed the course of history: And our little girl Tricia, the six year old, named it "Checkers." And you know, the kids, like all kids, love the dog, and I just want to say this, right now, that regardless of what they say about it, we're gonna keep it.

Provided by Suzi Deering of www.pet-super-store.com: Find great deals on Dog Kennels and Pet Stairs.

Rescue a Doggy-Meet Daisy and Wishbone

 Meet Daisy and Wishbone

Daisy & Wishbone,Jack Russell Terriers

Small Adult Male Dog Pet ID: O1644

They are a team. Daisy is female and Wishbone is a male. Please come visit me at the Stevens-Swan Humane Society or call to find out about me at 738-4357.

My Contact Info

• Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Oneida County
• Utica, NY
• 315…
  
• Email Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Oneida County
  
• See more pets from Stevens-Swan Humane Society of Oneida County
  
• Share on Facebook

 

 

 

You tube Video-Polar bears and dogs playing

You tube Video-Polar bears and dogs playing

The Karate Kid divx

I don't know, they may just be playing, but that bear looks like he's trying to to bite the dog's head off towards the end.

New human in the family and I am not happy about it

New human in the family and I'm not happy about it!

I don't feel much like telling a joke this week. I am sad My Momma-April went a way for 5 days. I missed her a lot. Momma-Cathy was gone a lot too and when she did come home, she had a strange smell on her, like that of a brand new human.

Then Momma-April came home. I was so glad to see her. I tried to jump up to give her a kiss but she yelled and pushed me a way. Momma Cathy said it was cos she had something called surgery and she was sore. But all I know is my Momma didn't want me anymore.

She had this tiny little human and she did let me smell her. But all she does is walk around with that little human in her arms. She doesn't want to play with me anymore or even pet me much. She's always too busy with what they are calling "the baby." She won't even let me sleep in her bed with her anymore.

Momma-Cathy has been trying to play with me more and give me more attention but she seems to be paying a lot of attention to "the baby" too.

It makes me mad that the other dogs love the new baby. Roxy tries to mother it. Joey and Harley are fascinated with it. Don't they know that the humans love that baby more than us?

Oh well, I guess the show must go on. Here's the joke for the week:

Parking the Car

I pulled into a crowded parking lot and rolled down the car wndows to make sure my Labrador Retriever had fresh air. She was stretched out on the back seat and I wanted to impress upon her that she must remain there. I walked to the curb backward, pointing my finger at the car and saying emphatically "Now you stay. Do you hear me? Stay!"

The driver of a nearby car gave me a startled look.

"I don't know about you lady," he said incredulously. "But I usually just put my car in park."

Til next week,

Organic Pet Toys – Going Green for Your Pets

Organic Pet Toys – Going Green for Your Pets

Guest post by Cate McCall

 

Next Page »