Dogs of War

The History of the Vietnam War Dog

Melisa Robinson

Senior Seminar
Professor Michael Logan
May 4, 2011

Dogs have seemingly always been a part of mans history. It seems as if they have been at
our side since civilization began as our protectors and friends. It is no wonder then that dogs
have also always been at our side during war. Using dogs in war is not a new concept in any
way, but it is only recently that the military understood and utilized the full extent of what a
well-trained dog can provide, especially by American forces. We can most easily see this change
in the events of the Vietnam War. People have said that the war dogs of Vietnam were the best
defense that the military had that specifically prevented the deaths of American GIs. 1 Others
have estimated that more than ten thousand men owe their lives directly to the actions of a
military dog.2 The Vietnam War saw a rapid expansion in the use and understanding of what
dogs can do for military protection; it was also the beginning of a solid K-9 program that
continues to support the military today, both in and out of war.
Humanity has always had dogs in war. Whatever element that long ago united the dog to man
easily transferred to the battlefield. In the times of the Greeks and Romans, men found that dogs
were very useful as sentries and attack dogs. Their main purpose on the battlefield was as an
initial, vicious rush against the enemy. These were large strong canines and of the same breed as
the working dogs that lived in the countryside. The only difference was in their training. They
conditioned them to be absolutely vicious and lethal.3 These ancient armies outfitted these
ferocious dogs in plated or spiked armor, and sent them ahead of the army to attack the enemies
advancing formation. In one instance, after the armies of an ancient city had fallen to the
Romans, the women of the city released their dogs upon the invaders. It did not save the city, but
it stopped the advancing army for several hours.4 It was an impressive feat for an attacking force
consisting of only dogs. This early history of war dogs would set a trend for canine use in war
that would last for centuries. Dogs were simply very effective weapons in a pre-gunpowder
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society.5 The armies could employ the dogs from a distance, which protected human life. Their
keen senses often gave advance warning of attack to the armies that they served. The unerring
loyalty that they showed to their human masters was not only an incredible boon on the
battlefield, but it also had the effect of increasing morale among the soldiers. The connection
between dogs and men did not waiver on the field; it only strengthened.
Dogs continued to show their usefulness in war for centuries to come. Napoleon used them as
an early warning system in Alexandria by chaining dogs to the outside wall of the city. They also
served as an initial defense for the city as there seemed to be very few invaders who were willing
to approach these enraged sentries. Armies continued to find uses for dogs as technology
advanced. Their effectiveness as forward attackers diminished with the onset of guns; but armies
found dogs to be very effective in other roles in warfare, such as sentries and tracking.
However, it seems that use of war dogs was not a universal phenomenon. In Europe, it was a
typical part of the army and has been for centuries. They bred dogs specifically to become more
effective military machines.6 In America, however, dogs were not a typical part of military life.
They used dogs in the developing country as herding or farm dogs, but Americans thought of
warfare as a realm of men and the skill of a developed canine unit went unnoticed. They simply
did not think of dogs as a necessary part of the American military.7 They have used dogs in every
war, but in a very limited capacity. In World War I, after observing the effectiveness of the
canine units of the British troops, American troops sought to emulate them. As the war
progressed, the military introduced dogs into the military, usually as combat dogs or as cadaver
dogs. These combat dogs were very helpful in that war, mainly because a trained dog could cross
into No Mans Land and rescue or identify American soldiers who found themselves trapped
between the trench lines. However, despite their effectiveness, the majority of the American
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military dogs were simply mascots for different units. Their function as mascots was more a
psychological one than a military use. For a soldier, having a dog to come back to after a long
fight was therapeutic and calming. These dogs were mostly adopted strays, but for the men that
they belonged to, they were a precious part of the unit.8 Dogs as unit mascots continue to this
day. The canines were beginning to prove their usefulness to the American military, but the real
value of these dogs would not be fully understood or employed until the Vietnam War.
After World War I, the American military shut down the canine program. The program was
thought of as unnecessary when there was no war for the dogs to fight. However, whenever war
did break out again, the military would quickly restart some sort of military dog program. In
World War II, the program was restarted when the effectiveness of the British K-9 program was
again observed. 9 Dogs were used in many different capacities throughout that war. In eastern
Europe, they were used in combat and as sled dogs. In the Pacific, they were used as sentries and
as scout dogs. However, after the war ended, so did the program and the dogs were sent back to
America with their handlers. The same policy was used in the Korean War. For the US, the idea
of military dogs was only useful when we were at war. Keeping the program running after the
war was thought to be unnecessary and wasteful. In peacetime, only a small number of dogs
were kept in the military as part of the police force. So every time another war started, the value
of military dogs was remembered and another program was started from the ground up. Because
of this attitude, there was never an established program to draw from when war did break out.
Instead of already knowing what military dogs were capable of in combat situations, they were
rediscovered as the programs developed. This left a lot of room for error in the military dog
programs. As a result, the program that was used during Vietnam was developed in a rather
haphazard way.
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In 1961, the American military started a program that was designed to bring military working
dogs in the Vietnam conflict. In the early days of the Vietnam War, America did not have an
active role in combat; they supported the Army of the Republic of Vietnam by providing military
equipment and advice. The introduction of the war dog into the ARVN was a part of this support.
It was thought that the advance warning that the dogs could provide as both sentries and scouts
would prove to be invaluable for combatting the Vietcong. The VC used guerilla warfare tactics,
which meant that sabotage in military bases and ambushes in combat were a major problem for
the ARVN.10 The keen senses and quick alerts of a properly trained dog were extremely effective
against those tactics. However, introducing a canine division into the ARVN was met with some
rather major complications.
The Quartermaster General originally headed up the project of developing the canine
program for Vietnam. One of the first challenges was selecting the breed that would be the most
effective in the required roles. The required characteristics for the military dogs were
intelligence, strength, keen senses, a good temperament, and solid overall health. As it turned
out, most of the dogs involved in the ARVN program initially came from Eastern Europe. The
most prominent breeds that met these requirements were the Doberman and the German
Shepherd. The Shepherd eventually became the primary breed in the initial days of the ARVN
simply because they were more common and cheaper to acquire.11
Constructing a new division of the military proved to be quite the challenge. For one, a
veterinary program needed to be developed for the ARVN and introducing new breeds of dogs
into the tropical Vietnamese environment created a whole host of new and unexpected issues to
deal with. Primarily, the health of the dogs suffered as they arrived in Vietnam. The sudden
increase in heat and humidity caused several dogs from the first shipment to succumb to
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heatstroke. One did not even make it off the plane.12 After that, the dogs were often conditioned
before they left to be more accustomed to the tropical environment. They were also closely
observed upon arrival for signs of overheating and were slowly acclimated to the heat. The
veterinarians also had to deal with an influx of new local diseases and parasites for which the
Western breeds had no immunity.13 The amount of new complications only increased as the dogs
remained in the country.
The priority that the American military placed on these dogs was met with conflict from both
Vietnamese culture and their military structure. Firstly, dogs in Vietnam were considered an
asset, not in a military function, but as a food source. Dog meat was actually considered a
delicacy in that culture.14 Dogs were not thought of as protectors, and the idea that they could be
used as such was met with skepticism. Also, the military had no structure in place for
maintaining a canine division. They had no facilities in place to hold the dogs, and no veterinary
unit to care for them. The US military pushed the program through despite these issues.
The issue of vet care caused a serious problem at first. The dogs were not supposed to be
brought in until proper veterinary care was arranged, but because of a major miscommunication
between the two militaries, there were only about twenty vets in the ARVN and the American
Vet Corps was still in its beginning stages.15 When the first wave of nearly two hundred dogs
arrived, they were decimated by the unpreparedness of the military. The Vietnamese vets had no
idea how to care for these large, dangerous-looking animals and their American counterparts had
to deal with several unexpected issues. Dozens were lost to heat stroke, and more died of
starvation due to improper diet. Despite the fact that the US military had left dietary instructions
for the dogs, the ARVN had trouble following them.16

Another major impediment for the Vietnamese canine program was found in the
development of a working relationship between Vietnamese handlers and the dogs. In the
beginning, there was a major cultural divide. These dogs were raised in Europe, and were
familiar with Germanic faces and dialects. When they arrived in Vietnam, they were terrified of
their Asian handlers.17 This problem was confounded by the fact that the Vietnamese were also
terrified of their new dogs. These were large, muscular, and ferocious in appearance. The normal
strays of Vietnam were much smaller; this new type of dog was foreign in that country. There
was also the fact that, in Vietnamese culture, the dog was associated with the devil. The
Vietnamese believed that if a man was killed next to a canine, that they would be reincarnated as
a dog, which was a terrible fate in that culture.18 That notion seriously impeded the development
of a working relationship in the ARVN.
However, in some ways, the cultural clash was actually something of a point of humor for the
experienced American handlers. Apparently, listening to the ARVN soldiers attempt to
pronounce the names of the imported dogs- names like Rolf and Arco- was somewhat amusing.19
Teaching the ARVN handlers how to properly use the dogs skills became another challenge.
The dogs were trained to perform on the promise of a verbal reward, and the new handlers had a
difficult time understanding the importance of the close, friendly relationship.20 Basically, the
men did not want to bond with the dogs as their culture forbade it.
Eventually, these dogs more than proved their worth in active duty as sentries. But there were
many problems that plagued the Vietnamese program. At first, the army had a difficult time
deciding the worth of the canines. Their culture said one thing, but the initial effectiveness of the
sentry dog quickly increased the value of the dogs in the minds of the South Vietnamese. Once
their worth was proven, much of the apprehension that existed between the first Vietnamese
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handlers and their dogs quickly disappeared. Many became proud to be a part of such an
effective program, and they did begin to bond with their dogs. When the initial apprehensions
were sorted out, most of the handlers and dogs worked quite well together.21 Also, the military
leaders of South Vietnam soon came to place a high value on the dogs, mostly because of their
proven effectiveness and the cost that the US military assigned to them. In some cases, they even
placed a higher value on the dogs than they did on their own soldiers. Col. Greg Nelson later
recounted,
The official stand of the Vietnamese Government was that the dog was worth more than the
soldier. This helped to further the attitude that the dogs should be protected. We had a
Doberman that turned on its handler and was in the process of taking his muscle right off his
arm. In getting them separated, I hit the dog hard enough to break its femur. The Vietnamese
were very upsetthat I had injured the dog.22
However, despite the initial successes, there were still many problems with the canine
division in the ARVN and they grew with time. Many of them had to do with proper vet care and
nutrition. The army was simply not able to pay the extra expense for the dog food. Also, even if
they were providing proper nutrition, the food was often stolen by their handlers as it was of
higher quality than the soldiers rations.23 As a result, many dogs in the ARVN died of starvation
and disease.
Over time, many issues with the effectiveness of the dogs began to appear. The dogs that had
been trained outside Vietnam were very effective at detecting an intruder on base, but their
training was not maintained. Shortcuts were taken that had horrible effects on the dogs
efficiency.24 Also, the introduction of the scout dog into the ARVN was nothing short of a

disaster. The scout dog requires more and consistent training throughout the dogs time in
combat. This ensures that the dog will not bark on patrol and that the handler is aware of how his
dog will alert to a problem. The ARVN never quite grasped the differences in this training; as a
result, many scout dogs were sent into combat without proper training. It was a disaster that
seriously undermined the value of the canine in the ARVN.25 When the ARVN began recruiting
and training their handlers without American aid, the program quickly deteriorated. The
Vietnamese soldiers assigned to the canine program did not care to make such a devoted effort to
train their dogs. Even though the Vietnamese military administration placed a heavy importance
on the dogs, the common soldier usually saw working with canines as a second-class position.26
Therefore, most of the Vietnamese handlers never really understood or cared for their dogs.
Heatstroke, malnutrition, and infections became a major problem in the ARVN K-9 forces.
These factors, when combined with casualties from actual combat, had a devastating effect
on the program. From 1964 to 1966, the program went from 327 dogs down to only 130, and that
is with heavy reinforcements throughout the period.27 Still they maintained the program
throughout the war with aid from the American military. They continually funneled dogs into the
ARVN, even though the program was never really able to gain its footing. Most of the dogs
given to the ARVN died of starvation and disease. Still, when America withdrew, the military
gave the dogs from American platoons to the Vietnamese Army. The military did not record
what happened to the dogs after the American military left, but more than likely, the ARVN
abandoned the dogs or possibly even ate them.28
The American militarys role in Vietnam soon expanded from a helpful advisor to an active
participant. Many people believed that once the U.S. military moved in, they would be able to
end the Vietnam conflict immediately. This was not the case as North Vietnam proved to be
8

more stubborn and clever than originally thought. As the war escalated, efforts to increase
American efficiency grew as well. In 1965, the military finally proposed the idea of using
military dogs in Vietnam.29 The United States used the dogs previously in both World War II and
the Korean War; however, after the conclusion of these wars the military always shut down the
program. The British in Malaysia had also used military dogs recently with very good results.
But the dogs were slow to come in the Vietnam conflict; the military simply overlooked their
uses in the American plan for years, despite their functions in previous wars. Eventually, after a
successful sabotage mission by the VC on Da Nang Air Force base, the top military brass
acknowledged the effectiveness of the sentry dog and quickly started Project Top Dog 451.30
They assembled the first dogs at Lackland Air Force Base and quickly shipped them to
Vietnam on a trial basis. This small contingent of rapidly assembled dogs had previous
experience in sentry duties. They were also older, but very well trained and focused. In their
initial four-month trial, they performed well beyond what was expected. They posted the dogs
around different military bases in Vietnam, and the units foiled several sabotage attempts by the
Vietcong. The VC could not fool or avoid the keen senses of the new sentries. The VC tried
several tactics, including bringing strong spices with them to scatter around and rubbing their
bodies down with garlic paste. However, a canine nose is incredibly sensitive, and these
diversionary tactics were almost completely unsuccessful.31
The military personnel who worked around the dogs lauded the successes of the first wave of
dogs, and they rapidly expanded the program. Project Top Dog had proven that German
Shepherds and similar breeds could function admirably in the tropical environment of Vietnam.
The Air Force quickly started up Project Limelight. The military branch sent trained handlers

over along with hundreds of sentry dogs. By 1967, the Air Force had 476 active military dogs in
Vietnam.32
Other branches of the military quickly replicated the actions of the Air Force. It seems that
the rest of the military closely observed the Air Force's initial experiment. When they reported
their success, the Army and Marines quickly began developing their own programs. The Army
quickly followed the example of the Air Force and within just a few months, sent 250 men and
200 dogs over to guard army bases as part of the Armys K-9 program.33 Most of these dogs had
previously worked as a part of the military police force in the States, and their duties there had
prepared them well for working as sentries in a war zone. They initially guarded fifteen different
locations, but they were so successful that they quickly expanded the program.
Even the Navy found a use for the war dogs. Before the K-9 program began, the Navy had a
lot of trouble with sabotage by the VC when their ships were in port. The Vietcong would sneak
up on ships inside harbors by swimming under the water with the aid of a hollow reed and
planting explosives. This technique is nearly undetectable at night. But the Navy quickly
discovered that a trained dog can smell out the scent of a saboteurs breath as he approaches the
ships. The Navy only used a handful of military dogs in Vietnam, but they were very effective at
averting acts of sabotage.34
The military, as a whole, quickly settled on an appropriate breed to use in combat. In
previous wars, the breeds varied according to need and availability. In Vietnam, they chose a
specific breed as a focus for the military. The original options included the Standard Poodle, the
Doberman, the Labrador Retriever, and the German Shepherd.35 They eventually selected the
German Shepherd as the main breed for military purposes, and the government still uses the

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breed today. They chose the Shepherd for their keen senses, strength, and intelligence. Also, the
typical German Shepherd has a fierce but loyal disposition that made them easier to train and
more loyal to their handler. They were also selected because they were so easily attainable in
Europe and America at the time, more so than the Doberman. The Poodle was eliminated, not
because of a problem with the dog, but because the image of a soldier leading a poodle was not
quite the image that the military desired. They used Labradors in some military programs, but in
a much more specified way. They were not aggressive enough for sentry duty, but their
incredibly keen noses and quiet dispositions made them perfect for tracking duties.36
Once the military introduced dogs into the American forces, their role rapidly expanded.
They were used to a great degree by the Army and Marines. After the initial trial period, they
began to ship hundreds of dogs over for use in the military. In 1965, when the program was in its
initial stages, the Department of Defense set a quota for one thousand dogs as the annual dog
recruitment.37 For the most part, the military purchased these dogs from breeders in the United
States and Britain. However, some American families did donate their dogs to the military. There
was an initial push by the government for families to send their dogs to war as a way to support
the cause. Many families did, and for a time, they were even able to send letters to their dogs or
rather their handlers.38 Many of these families also believed that one day their former pets would
return home, but that was not the case. For many families, the last they ever heard about their
beloved pet was a short telegram that informed them of the death of their dog in service.
Back in Vietnam, the role of the military working dog was rapidly expanding. It seems that
the more they used the dogs, the more valuable they became as an asset. As sentries, they quickly
proved their worth by becoming a major problem for the VCs operations. When the troops noted
their value as sentries, the military soon began looking into ways of expanding their role. In late
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1965, the military introduced the scout dog into the Vietnam War.39 The scout dog was far more
valuable to the Marines and Army, and these branches heavily invested in their training. In
February 1966, the first two Marine Scout Dog platoons shipped out to Vietnam. In the first few
months, they quickly proved their worth to the patrolling units. First Lt. Ronald Neubauer, the
commanding officer of the K-9 platoons, said,
Everyone wants our scout dogs. Although people have to be convinced that the dogs will be
a positive use to them, once a unit uses dogs, they always come back for more. At times
requests have to be turned down because of the limited number of dogs available.40
Neubauer also noted that the patrols that used scout teams rarely ever found themselves surprised
by an ambush.41 The keen senses of the dogs nearly always gave a patrol the advance warning
whenever they approached the enemy.
The training for a scout dog is different from that of the sentry dogs. Sentries train to search
out intruders and alert to their presence as loudly and quickly as possible. They also train for
specific attack commands. Scout dogs receive very different instruction. A good scout dog trains
to be quiet and very alert. They respond mostly to hand signals instead of verbal commands, they
never bark when they are working. Barking in a combat zone was very often a death sentence, so
the handlers carefully trained their dogs to respond to danger quietly. These silent alerts meant
that the dogs handler really had to be aware of his dogs specific alerts. For a dog, an alert could
be as subtle as a hesitation and a twitch of his ear.42 They also trained to sit down or change
direction slightly if they sensed a trap or ambush, and they trained to alert on the scents and
sounds. A dogs heightened senses can detect a potential ambush from hundreds of yards away
or even hear the sound of the wind whistling over a tripwire. Their strong senses were an

12

incredible defense for the units they protected. For the handler, these unique alerts, which reveal
potential dangers, required in depth training with his chosen dog. A properly functioning team
was incredibly valuable in the field. Scout dog platoons grew rapidly in number after 1965. By
1969, when the military began to reduce their efforts in Vietnam, they had already deployed
twenty-two scout dog platoons in the Army alone.43 By the end of the war, the military sent an
estimated four thousand or more dogs to Vietnam. The military did not keep careful canine
records during this war, so exact numbers are impossible to estimate.44
The military found one other use for dogs in the Vietnam combat. During the war, the
Vietcong created a massive underground labyrinth of tunnels. These spider holes allowed the VC
to retreat to a place of relative safety whenever the military ordered an airstrike on an area. The
U.S. military needed to find a way to be able to search out these very well hidden tunnels. They
found an answer in the creation of the highly specialized mine and tunnel dogs. The handlers
who led these dogs underwent highly specialized training that taught the dogs to specifically
focus on locating booby traps and spider holes. The military did not plan to use this K-9 division
as a combat team; this division focused only on tracking and locating. Their training began in
Fort Gordon in the spring of 1969. After twelve weeks of this training, the military tested the
dogs; they conducted the first tests at the training camp, and the secondary tests in the field. The
initial testing went very well for the dogs. In the field, the soldiers and officers who used these
dogs found them to be very efficient and successful.45 However, the military did not start this
division until later in the war; by the time it found its footing, the military had begun reducing
the K-9 platoons and soon shut down the program.46
It was not long into the dogs introduction to the war that the Vietcong soon began to view
these dogs as a major threat to their military operations. The same cultural issues that caused so
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many problems with the K-9 program in the ARVN also existed in the North Vietnamese. The
VC had a heightened fear of these large aggressive breeds. Some soldiers would simply lie down
and surrender if they thought a dog had spotted them.47 The American military also discovered
that captured Vietcong were much more open and revealing during an interrogation if a military
dog was present.48 The canines effectiveness in combat combined with the VCs deep-rooted
fear of the dog caused the North Vietnamese Army to consider these dogs one of the greatest
threats of the American military. They listed them as a threat second only to air strikes. They
feared and hated the K-9 platoons so much that they eventually put out a bounty for the dogs.49
This growing focus on destroying the dog teams made going into combat even more dangerous.
The dog teams already took point on patrol, but now they were the main target for snipers and
ambushes in the bush. It made the life of a scout team incredibly dangerous.
The Vietcong soon began larger operations that targeted the K-9 platoons specifically. On
November 9, 1967, the VC launched a total artillery attack on the 44th Scout Dog Platoon in Dau
Tieng.50 It happened in the middle of the night. The dogs were in their kennels and most of the
handlers were in bed. When the attack began, the men ran for the bunkers, but panicked when
they realized that they had left their dogs trapped. Their commanding officer forced them to stay
under cover until the attack ended, but most of the men feared only for their dogs. When the
attack ended, the men ran for the kennel only to discover that a shell had hit a section of it. Many
of their dogs suffered from wounds and two of them died. One man, Ollie Whetstone, discovered
his dog, Erik, slowly bleeding to death inside his kennel. Whetstone had worked with Erik for
nearly a year, and despite the dogs suffering, could not bring himself to end it. He gave his gun
to his Captain and walked out of the kennel. When he heard the shot that ended his dogs life, he

14

broke down into tears. For many soldiers that night, the attack on the kennels was more
devastating than any trauma that they encountered in the field.51
There are countless examples of how these teams saved the lives of thousands of soldiers
during their service in the Vietnam War. John Burnam, a former Master Sargent in the Army,
tells one such story. He tells of how his dog Clipper once managed to lead an entire unit through
a booby-trapped field without a single casualty. As they entered the field, Clipper gave a slight
alert and changed his direction ever so slightly. Burnam trusted his dog and followed the
direction that he indicated. Clipper changed directions several times, as they crossed the field.
The unit they led followed them single file. When they reached the base on the other side of the
field, the officer in charge took Burnam aside and explained how the unit had discovered a
tripwire every time Clipper changed direction. The dogs keen senses had saved an entire patrol
from an untold number of casualties.52 This story, while amazing, is a fairly typical example of
the advantage a good dog team could be in the field. Many commanding officers were skeptical
at first, but just as many changed their minds when they saw the results that these dogs provided.
It is difficult to describe the bond that formed between these dogs and their handlers. Dogs
have always had a close bond with humans; they shared a special bond with these men. They are
unendingly loyal and in return, humanity has loved and cared for them throughout history. This
bond only strengthens on the battlefield. In the Vietnam War, the military structured the dog
platoons in a way that isolated the war dogs and their handlers from other soldiers. When a
canine team was required, the platoons commanding officer sent one or two handlers and their
dogs to that unit for a mission. These soldiers were isolated from the unit that they led. Specific
teams did not work with specific units; the teams went out based on a rotation schedule. This
strategy caused a divide between the canine units and the general troops. But it also caused the
15

bond between handler and dog to become incredibly deep. The men who led their dogs into
combat trusted their dogs to an almost absolute degree. While other soldiers would bond with
other men in their unit who fought at their side, the handlers bonded with their dogs. In combat,
it was the dog that stood at the soldiers side and guarded him.
While the bond between soldier and dog was strong, the military program that supported
them had troubles from the beginning. Building a fairly large program from the ground up left a
lot of room for problems. One of the major issues was ensuring proper care for the dogs as they
arrived in Vietnam. There was no established program or recommendations so everything was
set up in a sort of haphazard fashion. The first shipments of dogs did not have facilities for
kennels, so the handlers that arrived with them cut barrels in half and placed them on the ground.
It provided some shade, but little else. Without concrete flooring, the typical material in proper
kennels, the dogs were highly susceptible to parasites. During the war, almost 40% of military
dogs contracted hookworm infections from improper shelters.53
The military also had a difficult time providing proper food supplies to the K-9 platoons. The
U.S. military often criticized the ARVN for not supplying adequate food, but for a few years, the
U.S. Army also had issues with this. They gave the recommended amount of food to the dogs,
but the dog food had often been in storage for months or years and had spoiled. It was not
uncommon to open up a can of dog food and find it rancid or infested with weevils.54 The
soldiers requested better food for their dogs, but it came slowly. The handlers, who cared
intensely about their dogs health, would sometimes split their rations with their dog or would
write home requesting that their parents send dog food instead of home-cooked treats.55
Eventually, when handlers started bringing dogs in that were suffering from malnutrition, the
military reorganized how dog food was stored and even began to ship in name brand foods, like
16

Alpo. However, in the Vietnam War, the military never established a set of nutritional needs for
the dogs. It changed according to what was available at each base. The lack of an assigned diet
meant that many dogs had issues with maintaining the proper weight and energy during the
war.56
Diseases, malnutrition, and heatstroke ran rampant across the dog platoons during the war.
However, it is notable that the Veterinary Corps that cared for the dogs did everything they could
with what they had. Most handlers remember the dedication that the vets and vet technicians
showed toward the dogs.57 The vet units simply had a very difficult time dealing with many
unforeseen issues that arose with bringing a new breed of dog into a tropical environment. One
of the first issues they came up against was heatstroke. The first waves of dogs often had issues
with acclimating to the heat. One dog did not even make it off the plane; he overheated and died
in his traveling crate. The vets that cared for them quickly came up with measures to help them
adjust faster. They limited newly arrived dogs activity, made sure that they kept the dogs cool in
their kennels, and kept careful watch for signs of heatstroke. These measures greatly improved
the dogs chances upon arrival in Vietnam; by the end of the war, it only took about a week for a
dog to adjust to the tropical environment. 58
The Veterinary Corps had to come up with many invented ideas in how to deal with the
problems they encountered caring for these dogs in Vietnam. Exterminating several different
parasitic infestations required many clever inventions. One example of this is in how the vets
dealt with leeches on the dogs. Whenever a dog was on patrol and they encountered a pool of
water, the usually thirsty and overheated dog would simply shove his snout into the water for a
drink. This meant that many dogs were returning to base with leeches investing their sinus
cavities. The small parasites could worm their way deep into a dogs snout and remain there for
17

quite a while. This was quite irritating for the dog, and interfered in the dogs ability to track. It
was a dilemma for the veterinarians because the leeches were too deep into the dogs nose to
simply pull out. Eventually, they discovered that by anesthetizing the dog, they could then flush
his nasal passages with a heavily diluted form of rubbing alcohol for 15-20 minutes. This would
kill off the leeches and allow the vets to flush them out of the nose.59 Aside from leeches, the Vet
Corps also dealt with rampant heartworm infestations, hookworm, and several others. More than
forty percent of the dogs in Vietnam would eventually contract at least one or more of these
parasites.60
To combat problems like ticks and fleas, the Vet Corps used a Malathion dip. It usually
worked well at preventing parasitic infestations, but at one point, it caused the largest tragedy
that any dog platoon endured in Vietnam. At the base in An Khe, a vet tech improperly diluted a
batch of Malathion dip. When dipped into the concoction, the brew poisoned the dogs. The
insecticide killed twelve dogs out of 25. The ordeal permanently damaged the other thirteen.
Malathion is absorbed into tissue and hair; they discovered later that if they had simply shaved
dogs when they noticed the problem, they could have saved many of the victims. This incident
was the largest collection of canine deaths that any one platoon suffered in the Vietnam War.61
Aside from parasites, the Vet Corps had to deal with newly discovered diseases that plagued
the dog platoons. The disease that caused the most trouble was Tropical Canine Pancytopenia or
TCP. This disease actually originated in Malaysia with the British K-9 units in 1963.62 The
disease contaminated the American units when the dogs crossed paths at different military bases.
American vets had not yet discovered the disease, and the vet corps knew practically nothing
about it. It went unnoticed for a while, but in 1968, veterinarians began to notice a common
disease that was growing in different platoons. It began with a fever followed by a hemorrhaging
18

nosebleed. Once the dog contracted that, it would most likely be dead inside a month. The vets
had no idea what was causing it or how to stop it. After several months, the vets finally
discovered that ticks transmitted the disease and the military could most easily prevent it by
treating the dogs frequently for ticks. They also discovered that tetracycline treatments could
help the dogs recover if they contracted the disease.63
Throughout the Vietnam War, the military dogs proved to be an incredible asset. Many
officers involved in the program said that the war dogs of Vietnam were the most successful at
specifically preventing the death of American soldiers. People estimate that they directly saved
more than ten thousand lives. But in the end, the military disregarded their value and abandoned
the dogs. Throughout the history of the American military dog, the war dogs were always cared
for after the war ended. The military did not consider them soldiers, but they still never left their
dogs behind.64 In previous wars, they always brought their dogs home with the soldiers they had
worked with. This policy changed in Vietnam. When the military withdrew from Vietnam, they
left most of their dogs behind. Out of the estimated 4,000 or more dogs that shipped over to
Vietnam throughout the war, only 204 ever returned home.65
There were several motivators behind this decision, but none of them mattered to the soldiers
who had to leave their beloved dogs behind. Perhaps the most influential of these reasons was
the current attitude that the American populace held towards the war in Vietnam. Many people
wanted the U.S. out of Vietnam as soon as possible, and they forced the politicians of the time to
listen. They set up the withdrawal from Vietnam to be as fast as the military could do it.66 To
save time and money, they classified the war dogs as excess military equipment and decided to
either have them put down or donated to the ARVN. The handlers who had worked with these
dogs for so long were devastated when they learned of the fate of their dogs.
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For the most part, the military based their decision on preserving the remaining goodwill of
the American populace by giving them what they wanted as quickly as possible. But there were a
few valid reasons for not wanting to bring the dogs back from Vietnam. One of the main reasons
was a new awareness of disease and cross contamination. The veterinary corps feared tropical
diseases such as red tongue and TCP and they did not want these diseases to spread to America.
Ironically, they discovered a few years later that TCP had already been in the states for some
time.67
When the handlers learned what was to become of their dogs, they first wrote to their
superiors requesting special permission to take their dogs home. The reply was always the same.
The generals and congressman thought it was too expensive and time consuming to evacuate the
dogs. The soldiers were always told no.68 The devoted handlers then wrote to friends and family,
pleading with them to raise awareness about what was happening to these dogs. Eventually, the
press picked it up, and a public outcry arose against leaving the dogs behind. The military
responded with a very politically shrewd method. They appeased the public by creating a
program that would allow dogs to return to the states if they could make it through a quarantine
program.69 But the program was mostly for show. Out of about a thousand dogs that were still
active in Vietnam, they only quarantined about four hundred for consideration for return to the
states. The military euthanized half of the dogs when they showed signs of disease. The military
did ship the remaining dogs out of Vietnam, but they never returned to civilian life. They served
for the rest of their lives as sentries on random military bases. The government gave the dogs that
remained in Vietnam after the withdrawal to the ARVN. When Saigon fell, many people believe
that the Vietnamese used these once beloved animals as food or simply abandoned them, but no

20

official record remains.70 For the soldiers who loved these dogs, there could not have been a
worse ending to the terrible war.
After the disaster of Vietnam, people remained silent about what they had witnessed for
years. For the most part, the American people did not care to hear their stories and the war dogs
of Vietnam lay almost forgotten except by the men that loved them. But the legacy of these dogs
did not die when they did. This time, the lessons learned by the military in Vietnam were not
forgotten when the war ended. After Vietnam, the military did not shut down the K-9 program.
They greatly reduced the program and ended many of the larger training programs, but each
branch of the military maintained a unit of military working dogs. This canine base ensured that
there would always be a standing program to draw from when a war started up again. It was the
first time in American history that the military had a standing K-9 program outside of wartime.71
The Air Force possibly gained the most out of the discoveries made in Vietnam. Not long
into the K-9 programs, a military branch discovered just how keen a dogs nose really is. The Air
Force soon found a new way to utilize that powerful sense. The most valuable part of a dog, in
terms of tracking, is their ability to distinguish between scents. The Vietnam war dogs were so
valuable because they can easily distinguish between the scents of American troops and North
Vietnamese troops. This ability to sort through different scents proved to have another use for the
military branch. Vietnam had a very prolific and cheap drug trade. Marijuana and heroin were
commonly smuggled out of the country by departing soldiers. It became very tedious and
ineffective for airport security to try to check every bag for drugs as it departed. It was not too
long before people began to notice that scout and tracker dogs were just as effective at sniffing
out drugs as they were at sniffing out the VC. This was the beginning of the use of the common

21

drug sniffer dogs that we see so often in airports today.72 The uses of the powerful canine senses
transcended the war and found an integral place in modern society.
In the years after Vietnam, the military policy concerning the K-9 units gradually changed.
The government realized the mistakes of Vietnam and with public support, have slowly been
implementing changes in their programs. Today, well established and supported K-9 units are
actively serving in the Iraq war. These dogs enjoy an established veterinary program and their
needs are well understood and met in the field. They have a set nutritional program, and people
have made technological advances so that the dogs can better accommodate the heat of the
desert. The military now uses a specially designed canine cooling jacket to prevent heatstroke in
the dogs. Also, the military will bring todays military working dogs home after a set term of
service. The military no longer uses donated pets, so they cannot be returned to any former
family. But when military dogs can no longer function in their duties, whether because of health
or age, civilian families can now adopt these hard-working canines.
In the end, the war dogs of Vietnam were left behind, but they could never be forgotten. The
military remembered the lessons learned through their sacrifices. And the soldiers that loved
them refused to forget them. It took many years for the horrors of that war to fade, but the
memory of the dogs that had served and died with them did not. In 1992, six veteran handlers
who just wanted to commemorate the sacrifices their dogs had made founded the Vietnam Dog
Handlers Association. Since its creation, many other people have formed similar organizations.
The growth of the internet helped the development of these groups; people who had not heard
from each other in decades now had easy access to old friends and shared memories. These
organizations have dedicated themselves to establishing a remembrance for their dogs. In the last

22

decade or so, they have founded several memorials honoring the war dogs of Vietnam and have
brought a lot of public awareness to what happened to those dogs in Vietnam.73
Today, we can still hear the echo of what the Vietnam war dogs did in Vietnam. Like many
dogs before them, they served in that war with the total devotion and loyalty that only a dog can
give. Thousands of dogs went over to protect our troops and they performed beyond their initial
expectations. The discoveries made in Vietnam changed the way that the government utilized the
military working dog. The program developed in Vietnam taught the American military
countless lessons about the value of a solid K-9 program. Today, there is a standing K-9 program
in every branch of the military. Now, when America goes to war, we do so with an established
program that is better prepared for the challenges that will be faced in a foreign environment.
There are still problems, but the military will most likely never repeat the haphazard
development and costly mistakes of the developing K-9 units in Vietnam. The American people
will hopefully always remember the sacrifices of the Vietnam war dogs. They find remembrance
in the hearts of the ones that served with them and they are reflected in the experiences of the
dogs that still serve today.

23

Jonathon Abrams. "Museum Honors Dogs of War; Handlers Believe Canine Heroes Saved 10,000 Soldiers in Vietnam." The
Hamilton Spectator, September 8 2007, 08.
2

Gary R. Benz, and Jeffery Bennett. War Dogs: The Forgotten Heroes. Videocassette. Directed by Martin Sheen. 2000. Sherman
Oaks: GRB Entertainment.
3
Henry P Davis., The New Dog Encyclopedia (Harrisburg: Stackpole Books, 1970), p. 176
4
Michael G. Lemish. War Dogs : A History of Loyalty and Heroism. 1st paperback ed. Washington, D.C.: Brassey's, 1999. p. 2
5
Lemish. War Dogs : A History of Loyalty and Heroism. p. 2-3
6
Davis, The New Dog Encyclopedia, p. 176
7
Lemish. War Dogs p. 7
8
Ibid., p. 25
9
Ibid., p. 23
10
Ibid., p. 167
11
Ibid., p. 168
12
Benz and Bennett. War Dogs: The Forgotten Heros.
13
Clark, Wm. H. The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps in Vietnam, 1962-73. Ringgold, GA: Clark, 1991. p.
137
14
Burnam, John C. A Soldier's Best Friend: Scout Dogs and Their Handlers in the Vietnam War. New York City: Carroll &Graf
Publishers, 2000. p. 305
15
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps in Vietnam. p. 22
16
Ibid., p. 14
17
Ibid., p. 14
18
Jesse S. Mendez, interview with Michael G. Lemish, Columbus, Georgia, February 22, 1994.
19
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 14
20
Jesse S. Mendez, interview with Michael G. Lemish.
21
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 14
22
Ibid., p. 16
23
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 169
24
Jesse S. Mendez, interview with Michael G. Lemish
25
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 17
26
Michael G. Lemish, Forever Forward : K-9 Operations in Vietnam. Atglen, PA: Schiffer Military History, 2009. p. 54
27
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 172
28
Ibid., p. 172
29
Lemish, Forever Forward : K-9 Operations in Vietnam. p. 64
30
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 173
31
Ibid., p. 176
32
Ibid., p. 173
33
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 72
34
Ibid., p. 184-86
35
Ibid., p. 31
36
Ibid., p. 14
37
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 184
38
Benz and Bennett. War Dogs: The Forgotten Heros.
39

Lemish. War Dogs. p. 183

24

40

First Lieutenant R.S. Neubauer to Maj. J. W. McKinney, Commanding Officer, 26 th ISPD, 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry,
November 12, 1966. USMC Museum.
41
Ibid.
42
Burnam, A Soldier's Best Friend. p. 173
43
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 130
44
Aiello, Ron. "The United States War Dogs Association " http://www.uswardogs.org/index.html.
45

U.S. Dept of Army. Army Concept Team in Vietnam. "60th Infantry Platoon (Scout Dog) (Mine/Tunnel Detector Dog)."
Report, Dec 1969. ca 75
46

Lemish. War Dogs. p. 212

Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 82
48
Ibid., p. 98
49
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 179
50
Burnam, A Soldier's Best Friend. p. 162
51
Ibid., p. 251-254
47

52

Ibid., p. 255
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 119
54
Ibid., p. 121
55
Ibid., p. 123
56
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 107
53

57

Benz, and Bennett. War Dogs: The Forgotten Heros.

Lemish. War Dogs. p. 185
59
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 145
60
Ibid., p. 146
61
Lemish, Forever Forward. p.149-50
62
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 139-140
63
Ibid., p. 144
64
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 232
65
Aiello, "The United States War Dogs Association "
66
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 222
67
Clark, The History of the United States Army Veterinary Corps. p. 139-144
68
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 213
69
Paul A. Elwell, V.M.D.: cassette tape on experiences in Vietnam, Jun 1989.
70
Lemish, Forever Forward. p. 222
71
Ibid., p. 259
72
Lemish. War Dogs. p. 244
73
Thurston, Mary Elizabeth. "Battle Rages on for War Dog Recognition." Dog World 84, no. 8 (1999): 24.
58

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