DOG

[Griff]

He's never gotten to the flip in the air. Could be he's too concerned with Aife stealing a miss. I had some anticipatory sadness about our aging rates the other day... I've had great and notorious dogs but this boy is really special.

[DanaC]

He is gorgeous.Those eyes. Goddamn.

[Griff]

Morning ski today wit da boy.

[Carruthers]

Army dog Chips gets PDSA Dickin medal for bravery during invasion of Sicily

A US army dog who ambushed a machinegun post in the Second World War and met Winston Churchill has been posthumously awarded the equivalent of the Victoria Cross.

More than seven decades after his life-saving charge up a beach during the invasion of Sicily, Chips, a Husky-German Shepherd cross, was recognised with a PDSA Dickin Medal in London yesterday.

The dog and his handler, Private John Rowell, were in a platoon that landed ashore under the cover of darkness on July 10, 1943, as part of Operation Husky.

Chips landed on a beach in Sicily with his handler, Private John Rowell, before charging the machine gun post.

The US soldiers were immediately attacked by an enemy machinegun team hidden in a nearby hut. As they dived for cover, Chips broke free from his lead. He rushed at the hut “with ferocious intent” and entered despite the barrage of gunfire, according to Private Rowell’s account.

The dog grabbed at the machinegun by the barrel and pulled it off its mount. “There was an awful lot of noise and the firing stopped,” his handler said. “Then I saw one soldier come out of the door with Chips at his throat. I called him off before he could kill the man.” Three other enemy soldiers emerged with their hands up. Chips was treated for a scalp wound and powder burns.

Details of his heroics were uncovered by Robin Hutton, a history writer. She nominated him for the medal. “The various efforts made by his regiment to decorate Chips for his actions sadly failed, so I am utterly thrilled that he has been awarded the PDSA Dickin Medal,” she said.

Chips was also a sentry at the Casablanca conference in Morocco in January 1943, at which Churchill and Franklin D Roosevelt mapped out the war’s next phase, and he met both leaders.

Chips’s medal was accepted by John Wren from New York, whose family donated him to the war effort, and Ayron, a military working dog.

Jan McLoughlin, the director general of PDSA, the animal charity, said Chips was a “very deserving, heroic dog” who was recruited from a family in 1942, then deployed during the Second World War and who “undoubtedly” saved military lives.

“It has taken over seven decades but Chips can now finally take his place in the history books as one of the most heroic dogs to serve with the US army,” she said.

The medal was awarded at the Churchill War Rooms. John Wren, 76, whose father donated Chips to the war effort, was four when the dog returned home, a day he remembers vividly. He travelled from his home in Long Island, New York, for the presentation. “If you look at what he did, it was pretty unbelievable,” he said.

Chips is the 70th recipient of the medal. Since its creation in 1943 it has been won by 32 other dogs, 32 Second World War messenger pigeons, four horses and a cat.

The Times. If the pay wall gets in the way, there's an alternative here: Stars and Stripes.

PDSA Dickin Medal. Please take a few minutes to read the Roll of Honour.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by Griff

Morning ski today wit da boy.

And he's never ever said, I'm too tired, or not tonight I have a headache.

[Griff]

To be fair, Pete went along as well.


http://www.kansascity.com/news/natio...195743044.html

These dogs begged to be let outside. Then they saved a woman from freezing to death

[Pamela]

I used to have a Weimie. Very intelligent but clumsy dog. His name is Toby. His greatest claim to fame is that he is a great escape artist. He can open doors, unlatch dog crates, slip leashes and harnesses and even got through (not under or over mind you) my brand new "dog proof" double-layered fence within one hour. And he also had quite an affinity for very fresh chicken, courtesy of my neighbor's chicken flock.

I really was outmatched by the Weim. He was too intelligent and too active for my family, but he was a rescue and no one was able to truly handle his needs, so he stayed. It was a daily challenge to keep him occupied and exercised yet under control.

My ex has him now. Best of luck to her with that one! I wish I had a decent picture of him to share. I don't know how to post a picture from the new version of dropbox, but here is a link to a pic of Toby and Bongo.

[Griff]

Sometimes a difficult dog is its own reward. I loved my hound Willy, but he could be a real asshole a loyal asshole but still an asshole.

[DanaC]

Yeah. Pilau was an awesome dog - but he was a nightmare to walk - a true asshole out side the house :P

Carrot's an easy dog to walk, but he can be very hard work in other ways. He is the most contrary hound at times.

Right now he is snoozing on my bed. All four paws in the air.

[DanaC]

[BigV]

As a kid, we had a Weimaraner. His name was Apollo. I spent a lot of time reading as a kid, I thought that would be a cool name. As for the energy level of the animal, all these stories point in the same, right direction. Strong, enthusiastic, unsatisfied to be at rest, Apollo once escaped from the basement through, "not over or under", the basement window. As far as we can tell, he just just jumped through the window and went on to visit the neighborhood.

He was fast too. The only way we could recover him was for me to be in the back seat of our little Fiat 125 as my Dad drove through the neighborhood. When we saw him, Dad slowed down and I opened the door and called him. The dog would lope over to the car, leap in the backseat, and Dad drove us home.

We'd have to do this when he pulled up that big corkscrew stake you augered into the ground. That dog loved our home, he came back to it so many times... Just to be have another chance to leave again. Great dog, should come with disclaimer "Don't fence me in".

[Carruthers]

Go on, it's worth a couple of minutes of your time.

[Griff]

for the win

[Gravdigr]

Damn dogs.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Observations..