RICKY THE SAPPER DOG

Would you move through a minefield with explosives that are waiting for you to step on one? Boom and you are dead. In World War 2, there were soldiers who were paired with dogs that were trained to find mines under weeds, gravel, and even mud. They would clear the field so it was safe for soldiers advancing on the enemy. This is the true story of one of those pairs who cheated death for the goal of defeating the Nazis. Ricky was a shaggy, long-haired English sheepdog who was loaned to the British army in 1944. His master Mrs. Litchfield, like many other pet owners in the war, found it difficult to feed her dog because of food shortages and rationing. The u-boat blockade of Great Britain had resulted in the euthanizing  of thousands of animals early in the war. Mrs. Litchfield did not want that to happen to her dog. The army benefited because Ricky became one of its best mine detectors. He aced the training at the War Dog Training School where he proved to be smart and steady. He was calm and focused even when the training included gunfire and explosions. He learned to sniff out the 16 types of anti-tank mines and the 10 types of anti-personnel mines. ;He was partnered with Private Maurice Yelding. The pair were assigned to the 15^th Scottish Infantry which had already landed at D-Day and fought its way across France. When Ricky arrived, the unit was fighting in the Netherlands. On December 3, 1944, Rag Bag (which is what Yelding called the dog) was mine-clearing along a canal. Their commanding officer set off a mine just three yards from them. He was killed and Rag Bag was wounded in the head. Despite this, the courageous canine continued to help clear the field. This act of bravery resulted in him receiving the Dickin Medal in 1947. He was the 47^th recipient of the award which was equivalent to the British Victoria Cross. The citation read: “This dog was engaged in cleaning the verges of the canal bank in Holland. He found all the mines but during the operation one of them exploded. Ricky was wounded in the head but remained calm and kept at work. Had he become excited he would have been a danger to the rest of the section working nearby.” The British army wanted to keep this valuable asset and offered Mrs. Sheffield the maximum amount allowed for purchasing loaned dogs, but Mrs. Sheffield insisted on the return of her dog. Rag Bag went back to being Ricky the family dog and lived out his days away from any explosions. Ricky was a sapper searcher sniffer who saved soldiers.