1st February 2010

The Dog that Saved My Life

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The Dog That Saved My Life by Isabel George compiles five truly inspiring stories about canine loyalty in times of war. In this extract, we find out about how Gander, the Newfoundland, joins the Royal Rifles on active duty.

Within days of receiving the order to leave their barracks near Gander Airfield, the Royal Rifles were packed and ready to move out. They had been issued with their tropical kit but had not been given a briefing on what lay ahead. There was even speculation that they might be going to North Africa. For now there was one certainty: they were taking Gander with them. It was a tall order to hide a Newfoundland dog that was almost as tall as a Shetland pony and weighed as much as a fully grown man. 'I think you've gone crazy,' said one of the civilians on the camp. 'How on earth are you going to hide that dog? You know what will happen if he's caught, don't you? They'll throw him overboard if you're at sea and if you're on the train he'll be put out at the next station. Then what'll happen to him? I think you're crazy and I think the dog needs to stay here in Gander.'

It was a brave speech but the well-meaning man was wasting his breath. He was challenging the Royal Rifles of Canada and he should have known better. Besides, who relished the idea of telling Fred Kelly, Gander's partner, that the dog wasn't going with them? That night the men called a meeting in the barracks. It was agreed that Fred would kick off with a request for a show of hands. They needed to know that they would have the support and co-operation of all the men if Gander was to leave with them. It took under five minutes for Fred to finish his speech and gain a unanimous vote of support. The dog was going with them. From that meeting a sub-committee of six people was formed. These were the people who would be Gander's closest companions and the ones directly responsible for his health and welfare. If there were any major decisions to be made, these men would take it. The Royal Rifles of Canada were well aware that pets and mascots were not allowed to be taken on military duty into operational areas. This was an accepted fact in the military. If they were caught there would be severe consequences. This too was accepted.

The priority was to prepare Gander for the journey. If the posting was, as they guessed, to the Far East, it would mean hiding their huge mascot dog during a train journey that would take them several thousand miles across Canada, and on a troopship that would spend many weeks at sea. There was also the problem of rations on the journey. There was only one thing to do that would protect the dog in any semi-official way: using official and unofficial influences in the military system, Gander would have to be listed as a soldier. One of the men. A sergeant. Gander of the Royal Rifles. Not only would he be on the ration strength he would also have a rank that would appear on all the transport-movement papers.

'Sergeant' Gander was issued with his own kitbag too. It contained all he needed for a comfortable journey and protection in battle: a special dog brush, a towel, soap, water and food bowls, and everything a dog might need were gathered together. Gander was assigned a seat on the train and all the men had to do was make sure their dog was neither seen nor heard by the officers. If he was discovered it was almost inevitable that the men would be ordered to leave him behind or if they were at sea he could be thrown overboard. No one was going to let their friend down.

In charge of the rather hairy recruit was Rifleman Fred Kelly. Kelly had been a dog lover all his life and from the moment Fred set his eyes on Gander it was clear to everyone that it was a perfect partnership. A soldier at the age of just 19, Fred knew more about dogs than he did about fighting but he was proud of his country and ready to do what was expected of him. The men had very little training so for Fred and his fellow Royal Rifles there was a huge fear of the unknown. For all the men, Gander became a welcome distraction from the uncertainty that plagued them day and night. At least Fred had Gander to fill this thoughts and the dog's care to structure parts of his day. Gander needed his food and needed to be groomed, otherwise his huge fur coat would get matted and discomfort might cause problems. An unhappy dog was not going to make for a silent travelling partner.

In some respects the partnership of Fred Kelly and Gander was something of a physical mismatch. Fred was not a tall man, but Gander was a very large dog so when they stood or sat together it was sometimes difficult to see where the great woolly dog ended and the small-framed man in uniform began. For the journey that lay ahead of them, this was to prove a useful element of camouflage. The men knew that if Gander was found they would never see him again.

More About The Book

The Dog That Saved My Life by Isabel George follows the stories of five loyal canines:

• Gander: WWII travelled with soldiers from Canada to save their lives in Hong Kong, Christmas 1941. Was awarded the Dickin Medal, a posthumous animals' Victoria Cross, in 2000.
• Judy: WWII English Pointer adopted by the Royal Navy who survived being torpedoed, shot at and almost drowning whilst serving to protect her comrades. She became the only dog to be officially registered as a Prisoner of War and was awarded the Dickin Medal for her companionship and bravery.
• Caesar: One of the first Australian tracker dogs to work with the Task Force in Vietnam, 1967, saving the lives of hundreds of soldiers. The intense heat and jungle terrain meant that man and dog had to work together as each other's protector.
• Rats: Adopted by the British Army to serve in Crossmaglen, Northern Ireland, in the 1970s, Rats rode in tanks and jeeps, leapt out of helicopters, and quickly became one of the IRA's prime terrorist targets. One soldier described him as "… an oasis of friendship in a desert of sadness."
• Bonnie: Despatched to Bosnia in 2003, she quickly established herself as the most effective explosives search dog supporting the British and US Forces. She was then drafted to Iraq where she brought safety and comfort to those serving in intensely volatile surroundings.

Each story captures the fear, determination and undying devotion of the animals and young soldiers that cannot help but touch and inspire the reader, whilst bringing insight into the dog's role in both old and modern warfare.

Where To Buy It

The Dog That Saved My Life by Isabel George is published by HarperElement, priced £6.99 paperback. It's available from good bookshops and from Amazon.

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