America's First Dog of Service - Middletown, CT
Posted by: 
neoc1
N 41° 33.554 W 072° 40.205
18T E 694290 N 4603461
A monument honoring Stubby, America's first dog of service, is located in Veterans Memorial Park north of Walnut Grove Road in Middletown, CT.
Waymark Code: WM18T1D
Location: Connecticut, United States
Date Posted: 09/21/2023
Views: 2
The Stubby monument contains a life-size bronze statue of the mixed breed dog Stubby standing on his hind legs with his right paw raised to eye level. His left arm is bent forward at at waist level with his paw pointing downward. Stubby is wearing is service outfit and a collar with a circular dog tag which is engraved:
The 3' high square granite base has a bronze plaque which is inscribed:
STUBBY
America's First Dog of Service
Born New Haven, Connecticut, circa 1916 - Died Washington, D.C., 1926
Stubby, a mixed-breed stray adopted in Connecticut as the mascot of the 26th "Yankee" Division, became a comrade-in-arms for the doughboys of World War I. He accompanied them to France in 1917 and served with them in their battles, hardships, sorrows, and joys.
He barked warnings of incoming shells and gas attacks. He was a morale booster, whether in the trenches or, after being wounded during battle, while recovering in a military field hospital. He rescued injured soldiers when he returned to the front and gained praise for capturing a German soldier.
He and his inseparable companion, J. Robert Conroy of New Britain, Connecticut, earned three service stripes after 18 months of active duty, including during the Champagne-Marne, Aisne-Marne, St. Mihiel, and Meuse-Argonne campaigns. The women of Château-Thierry recognized Stubby's assistance during the liberation of their city by making him an embroidered chamois vest.
After returning from the war, Stubby was honored as a life member of the YMCA, American Red Cross, and the American Legion, Eddy-Glover Post No. 6, of New Britain.
President Woodrow Wilson shook hands with him on Christmas Day, 1918, and he was officially received at the White House by President Warren G. Harding in 1921 and by President Calvin Coolidge in 1924.
On July 6, 1921, General John J. Pershing decorated Stubby with a gold medal on behalf of the Humane Education Society in Washington, D.C.
The Smithsonian placed his preserved remains on permanent display in 2004 at the National Museum of American History.