[USNI] The most popular member of the crew aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) for its marathon deployment to the Middle East was not Ike’s commanding officer Capt. Christopher “Chowdah” Hill, despite his social media clout, chocolate chip cookies and support for Taco Tuesday. This crew member had a leg up on Hill. Actually, he had two.
That distinction goes to Captain Demo, a golden retriever/labrador mix, a multi-talented expeditionary facility dog tasked with everything from comforting sailors during therapy sessions to general morale improvement.
Thanks to a partnership with the Virginia Beach nonprofit Mutts with a Mission, Demo is one of three dogs currently attached to warships. A fourth dog is preparing to deploy with the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) later this year.
Like his 5,000 shipmates on Ike, Demo spent all nine months on the aircraft carrier during the deployment, which was marked by combat actions in the Red Sea. While on board, he slept on a large dog bed in a stateroom shared with one of his two handlers, Hospital Corpsman Kindal Kidd told USNI News aboard the carrier. He had two heads, as well, where he could go to the bathroom.
Most days, Demo spent time with his handlers walking around the ship and visiting sailors. Their faces would light up when they saw the dog coming, Kidd, who is one of the handlers, said.
PREPARING TO EM-BARK ON A SHIP
The partnership between the Navy and Mutts With A Mission began with 2022, director Brooke Corson told USNI News this week.
The wife of then-commanding officer Capt. Dave Pollard, of the USS George H.W. Bush (CVN-77), reached out to Mutts With A Mission to see if the nonprofit could bring dogs aboard the ship, she said. Prior to the ship’s deployment, Mutts With A Mission brought dogs aboard weekly.
Other ships started requesting dog visits. After an October 2022 visit on amphibious warship USS Wasp (LHD-1), the ship’s executive officer and deployed resiliency counselor asked if it would be possible for a dog to deploy on the amphibious ship.
There is a long history of dogs aboard ships, although in a more personal capacity. Capt. Frederick Sherman brought his black cocker spaniel named Admiral Wags on his ships, according to “Dogs in the Navy” from the Naval Institute Press. Admiral Wags’ tales became fodder for a children’s book written by Sherman’s wife.
Aviators also brought a stray dog named Scrapper Shrapnel – “Scrappy” for short – aboard their aircraft carrier after finding the airedale terrier wandering the Pearl Harbor docks in 1943.
But there had not been an official program that used dogs as working animals to assist with mental health needs. Dogs, and other animals like horses, are known for beneficial effects on people. A 2022 meta-analysis in scientific journal PLOS One found that veterans benefited when placed with an assistance dog, while a 2023 study of Australian veterans and emergency services personnel found that those with an assistance dog had decreases in stress and depression.
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