Extreme K9s 101!

Today's extreme K9 is Sinbad!

"Chief Dog, Sinbad,was a mixed-breed canine sailor aboard the US Coast Guard Cutter George W. Campbell. Sinbad served 11 years' sea duty in the United States Coast Guard, including combat in World War II. Enlisted independently, he never had an owner or master, and was the only Coastguardsman to be the subject of a biography until the dawn of the twenty-first century.

Sinbad's birth is not recorded, but he was first obtained by Chief Boatswain's Mate A. A. "Blackie" Rother of the USCGC George W. Campbell, who intended the dog as a gift for a girlfriend. She did not take him in due to a restriction against pets in her apartment building, leaving "Blackie" with the dog as he returned from liberty in 1937. The dog displayed the attributes of a sailor: drinking coffee, whiskey with beer chasers at port bars, having regular and general quarters duty stations, and generally demonstrating seamanship. Sinbad was enlisted into the service with his pawprint on enlistment papers, his own service and Red Cross identification numbers, service record, and bunk. He was also a member of the Society of Polar Explorers. Sinbad was subject to military disciplinary proceedings twice, was promoted and busted in rank on several occasions, and retained the rank and rate of "Chief Petty Officer." following his retirement.

Sinbad served aboard the USCGC George W. Campbell throughout the Second World War while the cutter was assigned to convoy escort duty in the Atlantic. Although publicity photos depicted Sinbad standing helmeted on the barrel of a large gun, his actual general quarters duty post was below decks assigned to damage control where his canine ears would not be damaged by the sound of gunfire.

The Campbell's most significant action involved combat with, and sinking by ramming of, the German submarine U-606. When the cutter suffered severe damage, becoming disabled and without power due to flooding, Sinbad was among the "essential crew" left aboard the otherwise evacuated ship to keep it afloat as it was towed to Canada for repair. It was Captain James Hirschfield's belief that nothing could befall the ship if Sinbad remained aboard. That superstition may be credited with the presence of Sinbad's statue in the mess hall of current "famous class" medium endurance cutter USCGC Campbell.

Sinbad was a veteran of other anti-submarine warfare as well as surviving strafing attacks by enemy aircraft.

Sinbad was ultimately awarded the following : American Defense Service Medal, American Campaign Medal, European-African-MiddleEastern Campaign Medal, Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal, WWII Victory Medal and Navy Occupation Service Medal.

Sinbad became a public figure through media attention first garnered by his presence in bars in ports of call. He also frequented Red Cross facilities such as his alleged favorite in Londonderry, where he was also the guest of honor at a dinner in Guild Hall.

New York papers featured the story of the clash with U-606, though without photographs as Sinbad was sequestered below after a night on the town. The Boston Globe's Martin Sheridan described Sinbad in a December 1943 Life Magazine story as "liberty-rum-chow-hound, with a bit of bulldog, doberman pinscher, and what-not. Mostly what-not." which appealed to blue collar and farm town America.

Photo sessions and network news interviews when the Campbell was in port served the home-front morale effort and gave Sinbad nationwide recognition. His celebrity further increased following the end of the war and the publication of George F. Foley's Sinbad of the Coast Guard, for which Sinbad went on a book-signing tour and which gave him the distinction of being the first Coastguardsman to be the subject of a biography.

Sinbad's track record in public relations was not uniformly positive. He also had his share of run-ins in port towns while on liberty and caused international diplomatic incidents in Casablanca and Greenland.

After serving 11 years, mostly at sea, Sinbad was honorably discharged from the Coast Guard on 21 September 1948. He then retired to inactive duty at the Barnegat Light station in New Jersey. Once described by Life Magazine as "an old sea dog has favorite bars and plenty of girls in every port", Sinbad lived another three years quietly ashore, frequenting Kubel's bar on Seventh in Barnegat Light and looking out to sea from the station.

Throughout his service life and into retirement, besides a beer at the local pub, Sinbad's favorite pastime was playing with a simple metal washer that he balanced on his nose (much as his statue on the later Campbell balances a rawhide bone), tossed in the air, and caught.

Sinbad died on 30 December 1951 and was buried beneath a granite monument at the base of the light station's flagpole. The decommissioned station has since become the Emergency Operations Center for Barnegat Light."

Article and pics from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinbad_(USCG)