Dog Heroes

By Tim Jones

A book of true stories of dogs who have saved lives, helped people in need and given their lives in the performance of their duties. It includes tales of dogs in the military and of rescue dogs and of working dogs doing their duty and of ordinary pets behaving in extraordinary ways.
One of my favorite stories was about Chips. Chips was a family pet who was a tad over-protective of his family. So with the arrival of World War II, Chips was sent to serve in the military. Chips was involved in the invasion of Italy in July, 1943, landing on the beach with his unit under terrible enemy fire. The unit was pinned down by heavy machine gun fire coming from a bunker just above them. The situation was extremely precarious. Then Chips, all on his own without being sent by his handler, raced toward the bunker. He was shot twice but kept going, charging over the barricade and grabbing the machine gunner by the neck. His actions gave the troops below the break they needed to swarm the bunker and capture the soldiers inside. Chips recovered from his wounds and continued to serve until 1945 at which point he was sent home to his family. He was awarded the Silver Star and the Purple Heart.

This was a fun and heart-warming book to read. Full of stories of the good dogs do for humanity, with their service and devotion, it makes one realize how wonderful dogs can be and what an asset they are and how under-valued they are for the what they bring to our lives.