Dogs of War

Dog tags; dog soldiers.  Do you know where these terms came from?  Both terms came from the use of dogs in WWI.  Both sides used dogs as messengers during the war because they were faster and smaller than men, and therefore could avoid enemy fire better than human soldiers.  They could travel over rough terrain more easily.  Often dogs would warn soldiers of approach of an enemy or lead the medics to a wounded soldier.  Several dogs were awarded medals for bravery or wounds received.  Special gas masks were made for canine soldiers because of the use of nerve gas by the Germans.  One famous dog soldier who became a movie star after the war was Rin Tin Tin; he made popular the "heroic dog"  who could reason out solutions to problems.  A successor to Rinty was Lassie, a "civilian" dog, but no less heroic.  There is an excellent website describing the use of dogs during World War I which tells of the heroic actions of these brave dogs, many of whom were wounded or killed in action and to whom the soldiers owed a great debt.http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50thAP-K9/K9History2/