Stubby

It's not often that a dog gets promoted to the rank of sergeant for combat duty. In fact, it's only happened once in history. A young stray was found on the Yale campus by John Robert Conroy,
who named him "Stubby." Conroy was undergoing military training, and when it came time for him to ship out for World War I, he smuggled Stubby along with him. For the next 18 months, Stubby became one of many war dogs living in the trenches of France, but he soon distinguished himself enough to earn the official rank of sergeant. How? By doing things most humans soldiers never even get a chance to do. Stubby's acute sense of smell and hearing allowed him to warn his unit of poison gas attacks and incoming artillery. He managed to locate and rescue wounded soldiers on the battlefield and even single-handedly captured a German spy. Overall, he participated in 17 battles, and was even awarded several patches and medals -- which he wore on a coat for him by the women of a liberated French town. After the war, Conroy smuggled Stubby back home, where he went on to meet several presidents and act as Georgetown's football mascot before passing away in Conroy's arms.