Smoky (no "e" in the spelling") was a female yorkie found in a foxhole in New Guinea during WWII. Bill Wynne, a US soldier bought her from the guy who found her, and he trained her to do all sorts of tricks. She won a magazine photo contest for war mascots (the photo that is posted at the top of this thread) and became quite a celebrity. She was elevated to war hero status after she pulled some roper through a culvert under a runway so that electrical wires could be pulled through. (If she had not done this, they would have had to dig up the runway, and the outfit would have been vulnerable to air attack for several days---Smoky probably saved lives by doing this job).
Smoky returned to the US after the war, and died at age 12 (I think) in Ohio. Bill Wynne was very devoted to her, and they even had a local TV show involving training dogs.
Bill wrote a lovely book "Yorkie Doodle Dandy" that gives the whole story of Smoky. I bought it from him, and he even autographed it to me and Edie (my Yorkie). Mr. Wynne is a real gentleman, and he has a delightful writing style.
Recently, (this year) a bronze statue was placed in the park where Smoky is buried. It is a likeness of her in the helmet, just like the photo above. Smoky was bathed every day in that helmet during WWII. Fleas were a real concern--thus the daily bathing.
I highly recommend the book--there are some surprises about her origin that I will leave it to you to read. GET THE BOOK---the photos and the story are just great.... |