They say that well behaved women rarely make history... but we don't know if the same is true for dogs. After all, isn't every female dog, "the absolute BEST girl"?
Whether they are our companion animals or working or service animals that help keep us safe, our dogs have a huge impact on us. But there are some female dogs that really went above and beyond the call of duty, playing an important role in not only the history of the United States but also the world. Some even gave their life for their cause.
From war dogs to dogs that played a crucial role in the space race, here are some of the most heroic female dogs throughout history.
Who are the most important female dogs in history?
Bretagne
Bretagne (pronounced like Brittney) was a Golden Retriever who, together with her handler and volunteer firefighter Denise Corliss, traveled from Texas to New York to help with search and rescue in the days following the 9/11 tragedy. Bretagne and Corliss worked 12-hour shifts for 10 days, helping search for survivors and providing comfort for first responders. She was just one of the many hero 9/11 dogs.
Following this, Bretagne also served as a search and rescue dog in Texas and helped with search and rescue following Hurricane Katrina. Bretagne died in 2016 at 16 years old. She was a true American hero.
Buddy
Buddy played a crucial role in helping people with visual impairments get guide dogs. Her owner, Morris Frank, from Morristown, New Jersey, was blind and read an article by a dog trainer named Dorothy Harrison Eustis about dogs being trained to guide veterans of World War I who had been blinded.
Frank went to Switzerland to meet with Eustis, about getting a guide dog of his own. Together, they trained Buddy, a German Shepherd that became Frank's seeing-eye dog. Together, Frank, Eustis, and Buddy created The Seeing Eye in 1929, the leading organization for training guide dogs for people with visual impairments. Frank also pushed for laws allowing service dogs into public spaces.
There is a statue of Frank and Buddy in Morristown in remembrance of the impact they had on people with disabilities.
Jofi
Jofi the Chow Chow belonged to famed psychologist Sigmund Freud. Dr. Freud acquired Jofi later in his life, and she stayed by his side constantly, even when he was working. Dr. Freud believed that Jofi helped to calm his anxious patients and that his patients would be calmer in the presence of a dog.
What's interesting is that Dr. Freud had never been a dog lover until he met Jofi. At the end of his career, he said that "Dogs love their friends and bite their enemies, quite unlike people, who are incapable of pure love and always have to mix love and hate in their object-relations." It just goes to show the effect that dogs can have on people, even those that previously weren't fans of dogs.
Lucca
German Shepherds are well-known as police and military dogs, and Lucca the German Shepherd mix was one of the best there was, even being the first Marine dog to receive the PDSA Dicken Medal. Lucca served with the U.S. Marines in Iraq and Afghanistan for six years and she was trained to detect explosives to keep soldiers safe.
Her career ended when she lost a leg to an IED explosion in 2012, but she was able to protect many soldiers during her career. She went on to live with Gunnery Sergeant Chris Willingham, whose life was one of the many that Lucca saved.
Roselle
Another heroic female dog in the 9/11 tragedy was Roselle, a yellow Labrador Retriever who was a seeing-eye dog for her owner Michael Hingson. Hingson's office was on the 78th floor of Tower One, which is where he was when the plane crashed into the building. Roselle guided Hingson down 78 floors out of the tower and through debris and smoke while the towers collapsed. She then led him 40 more blocks to safety at a friend's apartment.
Roselle received two awards for her service: the AKC Humane Fund Awards for Canine Excellence in 2002 and the Hero Dogs Award from the American Humane Association, which she received posthumously in 2011.
Sallie
Sallie, a Bull Terrier mix, and her owner, First Lieutenant William Terry, served in the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry during the American Civil War. She was only 4 weeks old when Terry acquired her, so she grew up with the regiment and became their mascot.
During the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point of the Civil War, Sallie disappeared from the regiment. She was found three days later, helping to guard wounded and dead soldiers. Although the survived the deadliest battle of the Civil War, she was killed during battle in 1865 at Hatcher's Run. She was buried on the battlefield and her likeness was included in the memorial of the 11th Pennsylvania Infantry at Gettysburg. Sallie was another true American hero who gave her life for the betterment of our country.
Smoky
Another dog that played a crucial role in war was Smoky, a tiny Yorkshire Terrier. Smoky was found during World War II in a fox hole in New Guinea. Corporal Bill Wynne took her in, Smoky would warn him of incoming shells and she even went on rescue and reconnaissance missions.
Smoky would also provide entertainment to the troops, and to other people after she returned with Corporal Wynne to the U.S. after the war, making public and television appearances. She comforted patients in veterans' hospitals and because of this, she is widely considered to be one of the first therapy dogs.
Strelka and Belka
Although not American heroes, Strelka and Belka, both mixed-breed dogs, were heroes in the Soviet Union because they played a crucial role in the Soviet Union's space race. In 1960, they were launched into space aboard the Sputnik 5, where they completed several orbits around the Earth before returning safely. This was key for the Soviets being able to send Yuri Gagarin into space, the first human to make the journey.
These two space dogs meant so much to the Soviet Union that they were preserved after their death, and they can be seen at the Museum of Cosmonautics in Moscow, Russia. It's amazing that they were able to survive the journey into space when so many animals before them had not. Strelka even had puppies after their journey, and First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy owned one of the puppies, named Pushinka.
These are just some of the many amazing female dogs throughout history, but there are likely many more that aren't as well-known. No matter their role though, all dogs are important to their owners, whether they serve as a service or guide dog, therapy dog, or just as a companion animal.