By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

"War Dogs" as a canine distinction is a wide-encompassing label, extending beyond just combat-trained dogs. This is in part because the ripple effects of war are so far reaching. In my mind -- as well as here in this feature -- "war dogs" includes combat theater strays as well as the therapy and service dogs who assist veterans acclimating to life after war. Which is why the news that former Navy lieutenant and Paralympian medalist Brad Snyder would be getting a guide dog is not only exciting, but very relevant to the war-dog world of today.

Snyder, now 29, lost both his eyes in an IED explosion during his deployment to Afghanistan in 2011. NBC reports that Snyder was attempting to help "two Afghan soldiers wounded in an initial IED blast" when he "tripped a second hidden bomb in a farm-field irrigation ditch. His eyes were irreparably damaged by the detonation and later were removed by a surgeon."

Despite such an altering injury, within a year's time Snyder would win two gold and one silver medals at the London Paralympic Games in 2012, where he also broke the world record for the 100-meter free. The story of his courageous and lightning-quick recovery became an inspirational narrative during the games. (Just watch this interview -- Snyder's resilience and eloquence is remarkable.)

Snyder will be competing again in 2016 and his plan is to take his new canine partner with him to Rio for the games. "Having a dog will allow me to walk to and from swim practice, get to and from the gym, and also be able to travel to swim meets across the country," Snyder told reporters.

Snyder was in Bloomfield, CT yesterday, meeting with staffers of Fidelco Guide Dog Foundation and their dogs. Part of the reason for the gathering was so Snyder could meet a handful of trained dogs for service-dog matchmaking. (In Fox's news coverage seen here, Snyder was cozying up to two dogs: Gizzy and Houston. Houston has a stronger, more determined demeanor, while Snyder said he noticed Gizzy was more "delicate.") As the Fidelco CEO Eliot Russman explains, the process is extensive. "We look at pace of the client, living situation, temperament of the dog, and a number of factors to create the best possible partnership..." There's even a "three-week training process in the client's home."

Dogs actually have a long history of assisting wounded veterans, especially men blinded during battle. During WWI and in its aftermath, France would often assign its own military dogs (who, for whatever reason, were no longer able to serve on the front lines) to soldiers blinded by gas. These dogs were trained to bring these men to their favored destinations after they'd returned home from the front. When hospitals were being inundated with wounded soldiers, Dr. Gerhard Stalling of Germany, after watching his own dog show "signs, from the way the dog was behaving, that it was looking after the blind patient," opened the first-ever guide dog school in 1916.   

The first-ever officially trained "seeing-eye dog" didn't come to the United States until 1928. Buddy was a German Shepherd trained in Vevey, Switzerland and brought over by a young man named Morris Frank. The pair was met with great skepticism; upon their arrival in New York, crowds gathered to watch the spectacle of a blind man being led by a dog -- one reporter actually taunted Morris as he and Buddy took their first steps into Manhattan's busy streets. It was because of Buddy that Morris, though not a veteran himself, would later become instrumental in ensuring that soldiers returning from WWII in need of guide dogs would have them.   

Whichever candidate he chooses -- whether it's Gizzy or Houston -- Brad Snyder is looking forward to the changes a guide dog will bring to his life and to share his experience with other veterans who may be in a similar position. "As the country downsizes our military efforts overseas, we're dynamically changing, and I want to help smooth the transition of those who are hanging up their uniforms," he said. Anytime we can show a successful transition, like the one I'm making, that's encouraging."

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Call of Duty -- the popular video game series featuring many, many different warzone scenarios -- has a new game on the horizon: Call of Duty: Ghosts. In the official recently released trailer, an ethereal score swells against flashes of a post-apocalyptic terrain of vivid land- and seascapes. It is the new, new world of modern warfare. Within the first few seconds a new character is revealed -- a SEAL team service dog.  

Where older versions of this game may have featured dogs as bloodthirsty obstacles, this time the canine fighter is on the side of good. The dog has its own role in this game, key to the way players strategize.

There are a number of promotional videos out there providing background on the serious lengths game designers went to amp up the gamer's experience, improving the game's scale and artistry. In the "Tech Comparison" video, creators discuss how they took "high res scans" of an actual SEAL dog, showing footage of a dog outfitted in motion-capture gear as he takes down a decoy and jumps up on high platforms. Their quest for war-dog authenticity was diligent: "Every detail is replicated," the voice-over says, "right down to the scars on the [dog's] nose and that tattoo inside the ear."

And that authenticity is going to deliver in the gamer's experience, creators promise. Yahoo! Games reports that the dog in Call of Duty: Ghosts will have his "own artificial intelligence and will apparently play a notable role in the game as part of the squad, who sniffs out dangers and aids the team."

News of an elite MWD's inclusion in this upcoming version of the game, scheduled for release in November, has created an Internet stir this week. And not that we should be surprised, but this dog already has his own (fake) twitter feed. As of this morning, @CollarDuty has some 19,000 followers. Though, with a bio line that reads, "I hate cats..." and with tweets like "SQUIRREL!" I don't think we'll be seeing any SEAL dog secrets revealed via Twitter.

But the game, well, that actually looks pretty cool.

Hat Tip: The guys over at MWD on FB and DL.

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Always Faithful, a documentary film that traces the path of five Marine dog handlers from their training through to their deployments, will premiere this Sunday in the greater DC area as part of the 2013 GI Film Festival.

With this feature-length documentary, director Harris Done and producer James Moll, focus on each handler's story with a straight-to-the-camera interview style that includes photos and footage from combat theater. One of the most interesting aspects about this documentary that I haven't seen delved into in great detail elsewhere is the application process for becoming a handler. It has varied based on the "urgent need" for handlers in recent years, but becoming a Marine Corps dog handler is a distinctly competitive pursuit. At the end of the test taking and the essay writing, the Marines applying for this job have to face a review board -- a daunting and nerve-wracking experience which Done has captured on film.

Done has long been a war-dog enthusiast. In 2009 he made War Dogs of the Pacific, a documentary about WWII military dog handlers. (In this trailer you get a taste of the great archival footage.) The timing of this film was crucial as all but one or two of the WWII veterans he interviewed have since passed away. Done's ties to these men clearly ran deep; when Bruce Wellington, a Brooklyn native who served as a messenger dog handler, died, Done gave a eulogy at the funeral. It was that connection which propelled him to pursue the storyline of the "war-dog handler" into modern day.

It's a rare experience to have interviewed K9 handlers across generations as Done has -- men who went to war in the 1940s as well as men and women who served in Iraq and Afghanistan during the last decade. But when it comes to the core of this job, Done found that "some things never change."

After a while Done began to notice that all the handlers he interviewed "would use the exact same phrases" when they talked about what it took to bring a dog into war. "I just realized that with any kind of working dog, they have that intense bond."

DC moviegoers can purchase tickets here. (There are multiple listings for Sunday show times, so don't give up if you have to scroll down some.) For everyone else, Always Faithful will soon be available for purchase on iTunes.

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Francisco V. Govea II/ Released

Taking life-saving measures on behalf of a MWD is something all handlers prepare for before they deploy, as do their dogs. Handlers' veterinary knowledge should extend beyond the basics of day-to-day care, and they are trained to do things like administer IVs, identify the onset of shock and poisonous bites, set broken bones, and bandage bullet wounds, among other specialized care that may be necessary in combat theater.

So, when handlers -- and the community of servicemen and women who support them outside the wire -- say that a MWD is treated like any other soldier or Marine in their ranks, they not only mean it, they practice for it.

In February, Ted, a yellow Labrador retriever and bomb specialist, and his handler U.S. Army Sgt. Leslie Langford, along with others at the Joint Readiness Training Center at Fort Polk, LA, practiced combat patient care and "aeromedical evacuation in a simulated combat environment."

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Joselito G. Aribuabo

The training consisted of what appears to have been a variety of simulated injuries -- human and canine alike. Together, Ted and Sgt. Langford endured a host of training exercises that included X-rays, having his leg set in a splint, and a litter carry to a Black Hawk helicopter.

Along with MWD Ted and Sgt. Langford from the 550th Military Working Dog Detachment out of Fort Bragg, the servicemen and women participating in these exercises were medical personnel (including veterinarians) attached 328th Combat Support Hospital among others.

U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. John R. Nimmo, Sr

Almost as important as defaulting to the proper motions of emergency care is preparing for the momentum of adrenaline and stress that builds during a combat crisis. A handler has to know how his or her dog will react under strain, to be braced for it, to be practiced at it as a team. From the photos -- especially this one -- it looks like Ted tolerated the chaos and the discomfort, if begrudgingly. 

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Amidst the more comical propaganda intended to intimidate coming out of North Korea this week was this video of the country's military dogs.

Unless these dogs are high on methamphetamines, the footage has clearly been manipulated, sped up as they launch over walls and through half-lit rings of fire moving at herculean speeds. As the handlers shout and make angry gestures, the dogs pounce on paper likenesses of South Korea's defense minister, Kim Kwan-jin (NoKo's "Enemy No. 1"). Tactically speaking, these dogs -- of which there appear to be only five or six -- have all the precision and training of a rabid mob. I suppose that might be frightening in its own right, but it would be a mistake to assume a military dog is a super threat just because he/she is savage. The really "dangerous" dogs are the ones who are impeccably controlled by their handlers.

So, who should be afraid of North Korea's war dogs? Probably no one.

I sent the clip over to a career dog handler over at the USAF Academy, Kennel Master Chris Jakubin, who after viewing the footage of NoKo's dogs attacking stuffed mannequins said it had the intimidating power of a Benny Hill skit. All it needs, he said, is the music.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

When a series of 12 bombings rocked Mumbai in March 1993 -- blasts that killed over 250 people and left more than 700 others injured -- one member of India's Bomb Detection and Disposal Squad (BDDS) was heralded as savior, a golden lab called Zanjeer. And now, two decades later, Zanjeer's photo and his story are making the Internet rounds once again, this time in memorandum.

Zanjeer's first find during those fateful days came on March 15, when he gave his signature three-bark alert on a bomb-laden scooter parked on Dhanji Street, a mere "stone's throw away" from BDDS headquarters. In the days that followed he reportedly saved thousands more lives by finding explosives in "unclaimed suitcases" discovered at the Siddhivinayak temple and then again a few days later at the Zaveri Bazaar. All in all, Zanjeer helped members of the BDDS find, as reported by Reuters, "more than 3,329 kgs of the explosive RDX, 600 detonators, 249 hand grenades and 6406 rounds of live ammunition."

Zanjeer, named after a 1973 Hindi action film about a lone honest cop who perseveres in a world overrun by corruption, was trained in Pune and joined the officers of India's BDDS in 1992 at just one years old. The much beloved and lauded dog went on to have an illustrious and astoundingly productive eight-year career, during which he was credited with uncovering: "11 military bombs, 57 country-made bombs, 175 petrol bombs, and 600 detonators." These finds coming after the March bombings in 1993.

When Zanjeer died of bone cancer (other reports say lung failure) in November of 2000, his fellow officers gave him full honors during a ceremony and memorial service -- as seen in this photo as a senior official places flowers over Zanjeer's body. And while the world is remembering this dog 20 years later, citizens of Mumbai are said to have commemorated the anniversary of Zanjeer's death yearly.

According to Zanjeer's obituary, "The cops grew so dependent on Zanjeer that there were occasions when they would bring only Zanjeer and no equipment." The chief of BDDS during Zanjeer's tenure, Nandkumar Choughule, said that the dog was "god sent" and that when men were not able to track down the explosives, it was Zanjeer who found them. 

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

In this photo a flight medic with C Company, 2nd Battalion, 3rd Aviation Regiment, is being lifted into a MEDEVAC helicopter with Luca, a military working dog with the 4th Stryker Brigade during training at FOB Spin Boldak in Afghanistan. The medics participating in this February exercise were not military veterinarians or vet techs, but were learning how to evacuate a MWD in the event that a handler was injured or otherwise unable to care for the dog himself. In combat theater a dog is treated as a full-fledged member of a unit and, if he were injured, would receive the same kind of emergency life-saving care and attention as any other solider, including the attention of a medic.  

Still, treating an injured canine in the heat of battle poses a unique set of challenges, especially if the dog is particularly protective of its handler or is known to bite (note the muzzle in this photo). When a dog team is out on a mission, the handler cannot be the only person in the unit who knows what kind of medical attention his dog will need or how it should be administered. All handlers are trained on how to treat their dogs, whether for dehydration, broken limbs, or blood loss. But when working outside the wire, many will carry cards detailing a kind of abbreviated "in case of emergency" instructions so someone else (hopefully a medic) will know how to treat their dogs if they are also wounded during missions.  

As one Army handler (who I interviewed for the War Dogs book) told me last year, the first person a savvy handler will get to know when assigned to a new unit is the medic. "Whatever you can do to help the medics out in your AO as a handler, that's what you do. You introduce your dog to them. You let them play, you know, get friendly with them." This handler wanted the medic, as well as the rest of his team, to know his dog and to care about his well being because they could be the ones in a position to save the dog's life.  

RIP MWD Bak: This is a photo of Bak, a dog who was killed in action on March 11 in Afghanistan. Few details about the circumstances of how Bak was killed have been made public, but a memorial page is active on Facebook, including an extensive photo gallery. His handler, Sgt. Molina, is reportedly fine and, as of Wednesday, was awaiting transfer back to the States.

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent 

In today's photo we have Master-at-Arms Seaman Tyler Frizzard working with his MWD during an explosives detection training exercise in San Diego on February 25. It's a snapshot of the moment just after the handler has almost certainly told his dog -- "Seek here" -- pointing to a spot I would gauge to be nearly five feet off the ground.

When I first saw this photo it took me a minute to understand why it's such a great and important image. And it's far more than just the composition or how cool the dog looks stretched almost entirely vertical against the length of his broad-shouldered handler. You can also see in the dog's expression how focused he is on his handler's instruction--the dog's eyes seem to be locked in on the spot indicated by his partner, which also means that's the space from which he is drawing in scent -- potentially explosive odor. And, last but not least, look closely at the dog's feet -- there's a good bit of air between those paws and the ground. Which for anyone who still believes bomb sniffing dogs are at a deficit when pitted against other explosive detection machinery -- hand-held devices, remote controlled robots, and the like -- is an important thing to note. Dogs' agility and the swiftness with which they respond to commands cannot be overlooked and hasn't been matched. 

In that vein, this photo becomes something of a modest but almost perfect piece of evidence to support the advantages dogs really do bring to the humans they support during IED patrols. So again, look closely. 

Rebecca Frankel is away from her FP desk, working on a book about dogs and war.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Andy Hawkett was a career military man who had retired from service after tours in Kosovo and Bosnia in 2002. But seven years later, he rejoined as part of the British Army's volunteer force, the Territorial Defense, in 2009. And when Hawkett was asked to join a bomb disposal team operating out of Camp Bastion in Afghanistan, he went willingly.

Once in country, he was attached to a unit of seven other men -- including a handler and his bomb-sniffing dog, a springer spaniel named Jake. Over the next several months their job was to patrol for IEDs, and during that time Hawkett became very fond of Jake. The days were long and hot for the soldiers and the dog. And as Hawkett told the Express, the tempo of their work varied greatly, "sometimes [it would] be so monotonously boring that the thought of finding a device or being shot at by the Taliban is pretty exhilarating."

And then one day their team had one traumatic find -- one of the members stepped on an IED during a patrol. The blast knocked everyone off their feet, and the man who set off the explosives lost both his legs. Jake happened not to be with them on that particular patrol but was back at their base. The horror of what Hawkett saw overwhelmed him and when they returned, he broke down. It was Jake who comforted him. "Jake came to me and put his paws on my shoulders and I guess that was when the bond between us really felt rock solid."

We've had a lot of stories here about handlers -- many, many handlers -- who've stood in long lines to adopt the dogs with whom they've gone to war or spent years with working stateside. Less common, rare even, is to hear of a soldier who went to the same lengths to adopt a MWD who was just on his or her tour. But it certainly reinforces how much these dogs affect all the people who work closely with them. When Hawkett discovered that Jake's career as a military dog would end after that tour in Afghanistan in 2010, he put in a request to adopt him. After 18 months of silence, the Defence Animal Centre contacted him asking if Hawkett and his family still wanted to take Jake. The answer, of course, was, "yes."

The Hawkett family says that Jake is a fully retired war dog who "may be good at sniffing out bombs but he's definitely not so handy at finding lost socks or toys. He loves his walks although he can't go as far as he used to."

Rebecca Frankel's book about military working dogs will be published by Atria Books in August 2013.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Winter Postcard:

Working at a clip on the snowy ground at Bragram Air Field is Drake, a mine detection dog, and his U.S. Army handler Sgt. Garret Grenier. This dog team (only doing training exercises in this photo taken on Jan. 8th) is part of the 49th Engineer Detachment and their job is to find buried explosives, specifically land mines.

U.S. Army Capt. Jeffrey Vlietstra, the officer-in-charge of the 49th Engineer Detachment, says that the original mission of these dogs that arrived in Afghanistan in 2004 was to find the mines on Bagram Air Field but that "eventually the program expanded and they started working in Kandahar" searching for IEDs.

"Our dog teams are the tip of the spear," Vlietstra explains. "Our engineers clear the way ahead of the maneuver force and our dog teams clear the routes to ensure their safety."

Rebecca Frankel, on leave from her FP desk, is currently writing a book about military working dogs, to be published by Atria Books in August 2013.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

Two career MWDs, both at the ripe old age of eight, recently traded in their military leashes for the comforts of civilian life. Brit, a German shepherd, was formerly a "patrol narcotics detection dog for a military police unit at Joint Base Lewis-McChord in Washington." Bubba (pictured), a chocolate lab with one tour in Iraq and one in Afghanistan behind him, was a bomb-sniffing dog for the Army.

Bubba's last tour in Afghanistan was apparently cut short when the 80-pound dog took a bad tumble, falling through a canvas roof. But his new owners, the Van Fleets, report that Bubba's wounded leg doesn't keep him from enjoying his new home or from taking measures to keep his new family safe. The couple, who lives in Trumansburg, NY, say that Bubba "will case the perimeter" of their home whenever he's outside and "insists on inspecting whatever object in one's hands."

Brit on the other hand, is continuing to offer his services to those in the military but in a rather different capacity. Along with his new owners, the Russells of Fayetteville, NC, Brit is making the rounds at the Womack Army Medical Center at Fort Bragg as a therapy dog, having taken therapy-training classes in order to assist wounded veterans. He's only made a handful of visits so far, but his presence already seems to be making an impact.

"The boy is a traffic stop," [his owner, Russell, who accompanies Brit on these visits] says. "Everyone stops to say hello or give him a hug."... On several occasions, those soldiers have broken down in tears while hugging Brit and have thanked him for the service of military working dogs overseas...."They tell me 'When the dogs come, it makes our day.'"

Canine news of interest: The practical use of the canine nose seems without limits. This week I came across three very interesting articles about sniffer dogs being used to detect some pretty unexpected...things. In Britain dogs are helping authorities uncover counterfeit condoms, and in California dogs are being employed to track down fox droppings in an effort to preserve the endangered San Joaquin kit fox. They're also using dogs to sniff out fox dens in Queensland, Australia, though in this case it's to cull the population, not save it. Who knew?

Rebecca Frankel, on leave from her FP desk, is currently writing a book about military working dogs, to be published by Atria Books in August 2013.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent 

This time last year, Sgt. Alyssa Jackson, Capt. Katie Barry, and Sgt. William Vidal, who made up the entire veterinary team at Bagram AFB, were celebrating the holiday season in Afghanistan. (They are the exceptional team-of-three who organized the war-dog run in Bagram earlier this year.) And while the three have since left their post in Afghanistan and are now serving on other Air Force bases around the world, they have fond memories of their last Christmas spent with the MWDs and their handlers stationed at Bagram.

Jackson said the dogs especially were remembered during the holiday season. "Many people would send us care packages for the dogs. The packages would have kongs, treats, and all kinds of toys," he said. "It was great that our Military Working Dogs are not forgotten during the holidays."

Above, MWD Paty sports reindeer antlers in the small veterinary office on base. Barry writes that when this photo was taken Paty was suffering from "pretty severe PTSD so she was on her way home. She's been dispo'd and I think her handler adopted her."

This photo at left comes straight from Zombalay, Afghanistan, taken just a few days ago. Handler SSG Donald Miller posed for this postcard with his Patrol Explosive Detector Dog, Ody. The pair has been in country since September.

Read on

By Rebecca Frankel 

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

At eleven years old and after a long career of detecting explosives and no fewer than two deployments behind her, Hexa is hanging up her working leash. She is leaving her home station kennel at the Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, AZ (not to be confused with the Yuma Proving Ground) for life as a housedog with former MP Staff Sgt. Neal Moody.

It seems that Hexa is suffering from a neurological disease that will ultimately leave her blind; Even now you can see that her eyes are coated with the telltale milky glaze. The article also reports that Hexa is suffering from Canine PTSD, though it doesn't hint at a specific trauma or how deeply affected her day-to-day life is by either affliction. Still while life as a working dog wears on any animal (as do multiple deployments), Hexa's handlers report that her keen sense of smell is very much intact and the article makes special mention that she still goes wild for tennis balls.

Back in her heyday Hexa, a large Shiloh Shepherd, was a force to be reckoned with. In 2010 she helped lead a demonstration aimed to prepare the Combat Logistics Regiment 15 for their upcoming deployment to Afghanistan -- the special lesson being how MWDs could be used in a hostile combat zone. They are not only there to help find bombs or drugs but can be used to chase down and detain a suspect. The "suspect" Hexa detained in this tutorial was Sgt. Jay Parales who described the experience (seen in the photo above) as "pretty intense" and "scary but fun."

"That dog," Parales said then speaking of Hexa, "Took me down like I was a little toy."

War-Dog Aside: In last week's post I wrote that Marine canine handler Sgt. William Sutra was going to be awarded the Navy Cross for the heroics he (and his dog Posha) displayed in Afghanistan. You can watch Sutra receive the Navy Cross here. The comments offered during this ceremony give a far better account of what happened on that fateful day than any report I've read elsewhere. (Hat tip: Mike Dowling.)

Rebecca Frankel, on leave from her FP desk, is currently writing a book about military working dogs, to be published by Atria Books in September 2013.

By Rebecca Frankel

Best Defense Chief Canine Correspondent

In the spirit of this week's news and its theme of sex and generals, I couldn't help but recall a detail from war-dog history pertaining to one of America's most famous general's dogs. General George S. Patton known for his bullish temperament was a great lover of dogs, especially one -- a bull terrier named for William the Conqueror, Willie as he was called.

Willie had a certain saucy disposition one that, as Mark Derr writes in his wonderful book, A Dog's History of America, earned the little dog rather notorious reputation among Patton's troops in the Third Army:

Known for his randiness, Willie wore bells, so people would know when he was around and take extra care."

Patton acquired the dog when he was just a little puppy and proudly wrote in his diary that, "My bull pup ... took to me like a duck to water." Patton fawned over the Willie, taking him everywhere he went and was said to have thrown Willie a birthday party. Patton also wrote that "Willie is crazy about me and almost has a fit when I come back to camp. He snores too and is company at night."

Indeed others noticed the closeness between the general and dog. Political and war cartoonist Bill Mauldin who, at one point Patton reportedly threatened to have jailed, remarked on encountering the formidable pair after coming face-to-face with the general and Willie:  

Beside him, lying in a big chair was Willie, the bull terrier. If ever dog was suited to master this one was. Willie had his beloved boss's expression and lacked only the ribbons and stars. I stood in that door staring into the four meanest eyes I'd ever seen."

When Patton died Willie was sent home to live with the family. This heartrending photo was taken just before the dog left for the good the life he shared with his general.

Remarkably, Willie has a Facebook page -- unadorned though it may be with its one follower. In more tangible memorandum commemorating this relationship, there is a large bronze statue of Patton and his dog in California.

Rebecca Frankel, on leave from her FP desk, is currently writing a book about military working dogs, to be published by Atria Books in September 2013.