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What did Sergeant Stubby do?

Sgt Stubby

Sergeant Stubby was a dog who helped soldiers fighting in World War One.

Stubby went on to become a very brave soldier who won lots of medals before reaching the age of two.

Sgt Stubby

Watch: Sergeant Stubby the war hero dog

Watch this animation for a short summary of Sergeant Stubby's life.

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How did Stubby join the army?

Sergeant Stubby with Corporal Robert Conroy

Stubby was found wandering across an army training session in Connecticut (in the United States of America) in 1917.

One soldier, Corporal Robert Conroy, took a liking to him and decided to call him Stubby because of his short tail.

When Conroy had to go and fight, he did not want to leave Stubby behind, so he smuggled him on to the ship to France with him.

Sergeant Stubby with Corporal Robert Conroy
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What did Stubby do during the war?

Sergeant Stubby sat down in a field

Sergeant Stubby took part in many battles, including the Battle of Marne and the Battle of Chateau-Thierry.

Stubby provided a number of skills that benefited the soldiers:

  • Stubby had great hearing and he knew when the enemy was coming, even from far away.
  • He took on the role of a mercy dog, where he found and comforted dying and injured soldiers in battle.
  • Dogs have a greater sense of smell than humans, so Stubby was able to detect the dangerous smell of gas before any of the human soldiers could.

Stubby however did get injured whilst helping the soldiers. He once got caught in a gas attack, and he also got hit by shrapnel from a grenade. Shrapnel are little fragments of metal that are thrown out after an explosion.

Sergeant Stubby sat down in a field
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How did people pay tribute to Stubby?

Stubby's bravery and courage touched a lot of people, and many wanted to pay tribute to him for all of his hard work.

Image gallerySkip image gallerySlide 1 of 4, Sergeant Stubby walking through a parade, Stubby marched through many parades Stubby went to lots of marches and enjoyed the praise and attention he got from people all across the United States of America.
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What happened to Stubby?

Sergeant Stubby model
Image caption,
This model is displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.

Sergeant Stubby died in 1926, when he was about 10 years old.

Stubby gained so much popularity during his life that the New York Times newspaper wrote an article celebrating his life.

It said that he did not get scared, even when his fellow soldiers did.

It also said Stubby's greatest skill was giving ''comfort and cheerfulness'' because he helped so many soldiers through such a difficult time.

Sergeant Stubby model
Image caption,
This model is displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of American History.
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Activities

Activity 1: Quiz 鈥 Who was Sergeant Stubby?

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Activity 2: History Explorer game

Play this game to test your knowledge and learn even more facts about World War One.

History Explorer: Secrets through time

History Explorer: Secrets through time: KS2 History

History Explorer: Secrets through time
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Bitesize Primary games. game

Play fun and educational primary games in science, maths, English, history, geography, art, computing and modern languages.

Bitesize Primary games
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