World War I hero Sergeant Stubby (a Bull Terrier who defended his fellow soldiers of the 102nd Infantry) made front-page news in the U.S. and earned him the rank of Sergeant, the first time an animal is recognized as having been promoted through combat. Returning home to a hero’s welcome, Stubby and Conroy toured the country leading victory parades and met three sitting U.S. presidents, among other honors.
But before he was a hero, Stubby was a homeless dog, scrounging for scraps until he was taken in by Private First Class Robert Conroy of the 102nd Infantry Regiment, 26th “Yankee” Division.
In France, Stubby saw frontline action in four offensives and 17 battles. He found wounded Soldiers, saved an entire company by alerting the men to don gas masks and even caught a German spy. After the recapture of Château-Thierry, the women of the town made him an embroidered jacket that would serve as Stubby’s uniform and display his numerous awards throughout the rest of his career.
Now the hero dog is being remembered in a new animated feature film: Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero, in theaters nationwide starting April 13. The movie is based on the true story of the small stray who was rescued off the streets by an American Soldier on the eve of World War I. With the love of his new family, Stubby rises above his beginnings to become a true, four-legged hero, making him an important figure in the world of animal adoption.
And now they’re hosting a Sgt. Stubby lookalike contest to highlight how life-changing animal adoption can be and to support the efforts of animal rescue organizations across the country!
CONTEST RULES: Animal rescue organizations may submit the photo of one adoptable dog they feel resembles Sgt. Stubby to Fun Academy via email between Feb. 20-27, 2018. On Feb. 28, submitted photos will be displayed on the Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero Facebook page and will be eligible for voting until March 8, 2018: www.Facebook.com/StubbyMovie
For more on the movie, visit:
- www.StubbyMovie.com
- www.Facebook.com/StubbyMovie /
- www.Instagram.com/StubbyMovie
- www.YouTube.com/StubbyMovie /
- Twitter.com/StubbyMovie
Second photo courtesy of the Division of Military History, National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution.
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