  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 09/02/2012 *Starred Review* It’s a long, proud, furry history. Ancient soldiers trained giant mastiffs to run in front of their troops by the hundreds. Dogs carried first-aid packs and messages behind the lines in WWI. American families were urged to donate family pets to the “Dogs for Defense” mission during WWII. And canines have served a vital role in Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan. These specially trained animals, now called Military Working Dogs, have sniffed out subterranean jungle tunnels, crawled through submarine passages, and fearlessly jumped from helicopters to help keep soldiers and citizens safe. Plenty of books about MWDs exist, but few take such a satisfyingly broad view or are written with this kind of clarity. Huge, colorful photos trace the history of war dogs and follow the progress of puppies as they learn to search rooms, surmount obstacles, and be suspended in midair without panicking. Patent describes which breeds are best suited for war, how dog injuries are repaired, and what kinds of equipment the dogs are given (including night-vision-equipped vests and “doggles”), while sidebars highlight stories of famous MWDs of conflicts past. As always, the shots of dogs licking soldiers are bracing and surprising—as is this entire clear-eyed, smartly organized book. - Copyright 2012 Booklist. Bulletin for the Center... - 11/01/2012 One of our leading nonfiction chroniclers of animal life, Patent here provides a photoessay on “MWDs”-military working dogs. She starts with the history of dogs in twentieth-century American warfare, with sidebars focusing on specific “Hero Hounds,” and then goes on to explore the contemporary military programs involving dogs. The book describes the puppy-raising program at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas, the training the young dogs undergo, and their work in war zones; there are also brief descriptions of medical treatment for dogs who have been injured or who suffer from PTSD. Patent remains a smooth and capable writer, bringing her narrative energy by focusing on individual voices and experiences. There are some questions left unanswered (what’s the casualty rate for serving dogs, for instance?), and it can be difficult to make out the spidery font against dark red and blue backgrounds, but audiences there for the doggy immersion won’t mind. A plethora of photographs, some quite arresting (a dog and his parachute-wearing human partner leaping out of a plane; a Special Forces dog with bristling high-tech vest galloping through splashing water), are the real heart of the book, with most spreads displaying more image than text. A timeline of dogs in war and a glossary are included; a list of further resources and an index will appear in the bound book. DS - Copyright 2012 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. Loading...
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