Smoky, a small dog rescued during World War II, threaded communication cables through tight spaces to save soldiers and became one of the first therapy dogs for the wounded. A bronze sculpture now commemorates her heroic work.
In the 1940s, there was a dog named Smoky who saved the lives of hundreds of soldiers in World War II and became a hero dog. In this video by an animal expert, we explain her story. Stay tuned for all the details. In March 1944, a corporal stationed in the United States Army Air Corps in New guinea found a tiny abandoned Jorkside terrier. After realizing that she belonged to no one, the man decided to sell her and the dog ended up in the hands of his partner, Bill Wine, a 22 year old who wanted to keep her and name her Smokey. From that moment on, the soldier and the dog began their adventures, surviving air raids, typhoons and a dozen combat missions. Together, they were inseparable. Win took charge of obtaining special permission so that Smoky could accompany him at all times. In addition to training her to help on missions. One day the American commanders encountered a big problem. Engineers were building an airbase and to do this, they needed a 75 foot long telegraph cable between two points connected by a large pipe. This pipe was only 8 inches in diameter and the only way to get the lines in place was to do the work by hand. To accomplish this, dozens of men had to dig a trench to lay the cables underground. This work was extremely dangerous and would leave the men exposed to enemy attack. Because of the difficulty of this work, they decided to enlist the help of Smoky. They sent her through the pipe with a kite string attached to her collar. This string would be used to thread the cables through the pipe. On the other side of the pipe was Smoky's best friend, so Corporal Wine would call out to him to advance through the pipe. Eventually, Smoky made it to the other side and the communications network was established. Thanks to this communications network, around 250 men were saved. But that wasn't Smoky's only feat, as he also became one of the first therapy dogs for wounded soldiers. It all started when Wine contracted dengue fever and was rushed to the hospital. His friends brought Smoky to see him and it was at that point that the nurses, upon seeing the little dog, asked if they could take her to visit other wounded soldiers. During the days that Wine was hospitalized, Smoky would sleep with him and in the mornings the nurses would take her to visit other patients, something that became a custom. Wine and Smoky began to gain acclaim elsewhere and they toured hospitals to help soldiers recover. Smoky eventually retired in 1955 and died two years later at the age of 14. Almost 50 years later, on Veterans Day 2005, a life size bronze sculpture was made of Smoky sitting on a soldier's helmet. The sculpture was built on the same site where Smoky was buried. Tell us, what did you think of this story? If you enjoyed it and want to know more about Smokey's adventures, we recommend the book Yorkie dude of the Dandy, written by Bill Wine himself, in which you will discover all the adventures they lived together. And if you want to continue learning about fascinating animal stories, up here, we leave you a video about the cat that helped solve a murder. Don't miss it. And until next time, experts.
