Judy (1936-1950) was a large, sober-faced English Pointer, the only dog to have official POW status in World War II. She saved many lives by her canine wiles, and became the best friend of British Aircraftman Frank Williams after they struck up a friendship based on survival, in a Japanese interment camp. Her incredible saga has been painstakingly pieced together by Robert Weintraub (THE HOUSE THAT RUTH BUILT, THE VICTORY SEASON) from news stories and personal recollections, and from the press attention that Judy ultimately enjoyed in the United Kingdom when she "moved" there, smuggled in by Frank after the war. 

Nothing in her early life indicated the distinctions she would eventually garner. She was just an orphaned pup living in a kennel in Shanghai, her animosity towards the Japanese military probably ingrained early on when she was beaten by Japanese sailors. Adopted as a mascot by the HMS Gnat before she was a year old, her life in combat began. All of her adventures can never be known; despite occasional disappearances in the midst of chaos, Judy many times simply danced back, spirited as ever, when all hope of her survival had been relinquished. 

"Weintraub’s paean to a remarkable dog will be seen by animal lovers as affirmation that all pets deserve our respect, because any one of them might save a life (or many lives) and inspire a nation, as Judy did --- given the chance."

The descriptions offered here of conditions in the Pacific theater are harrowing. Almost every page of that portion of Judy’s life and that of the men with whom she served chronicles the "mud, slime, insects, rain, and soul-killing humidity" of the jungles, and fierce sun, flies, lack of fresh water, constant bombardments by the Japanese on the beaches, and, once interned, that army’s cruelty toward their captives. Judy miraculously hung on, somehow managed to give birth to two litters of puppies, saved men from drowning, warded off poisonous snakes on the shores, and even once discovered and dug out a small well of fresh water. Frank and Judy met in 1942, when he shared his rice with her. After that, they became foraging partners. She barked at the Japanese when they harassed her allies, narrowly escaped being executed, and was given an official prisoner number.

When Frank returned home, Judy’s story gained purchase in popular lore (and tales of her courageous exploits continue to inspire). Frank was awarded the White Cross of St Giles for his service, and Judy received the Dickin Medal, a sort of canine Victoria Cross. She was even “interviewed” by BBC radio, barking on cue. Tales of her exploits encouraged returning soldiers and comforted families of those who did not come back.

But civilian life was too cold and boring for Frank, so with Judy in tow, he set out for Tanganyika, where his beloved pet died at age 14. He composed a lengthy biography and affixed it to a marble monument he had laboriously shaped “that he thought equaled her love and extraordinary devotion.”

Weintraub’s paean to a remarkable dog will be seen by animal lovers as affirmation that all pets deserve our respect, because any one of them might save a life (or many lives) and inspire a nation, as Judy did --- given the chance.