Meet Sgt. Stubby, the war dog who trained at Camp Yale

“While training for combat on the fields of Yale University in 1917, Private J. Robert Conroy found a brindle puppy with a short tail. He named him Stubby, and soon the dog became the mascot of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Yankee Division.”

So begins a Smithsonian Institution write-up on Sergeant Stubby, America's most famous war dog. Training with the two-legged soldiers at Camp Yale, Stubby “learned the bugle calls, the drills, and even a modified dog salute,” the Smithsonian says.

Then he shipped out to France with the Yankee Division. There, according to Slate, he comforted wounded warriors on the battlefield, sniffed out poison gas, and “even captured a German soldier.”

“These exploits made the dog nothing less than a celebrity,” Slate continues. “He met three sitting presidents, traveled the nation to veterans’ commemorations, and performed in vaudeville shows.” To this day, the Governor's Foot Guard in his home state considers him a “Connecticut Hero.”

Sergeant Stubby died in 1926. Thanks to the Smithsonian and the internet, his memory lives on.

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The Yale Alumni Magazine is published by Yale Alumni Publications Inc., an alumni-based nonprofit that is not run by Yale University. Its content does not necessarily reflect the views of the university administration.