Dog#10: Sinbad, the Loveable Mutt
In the midst of the looming second World War, a Coast Guard vessel set out to watch over the eastern coastline. Little did the captain of the ship know, however, that the night before one of his mates had unwittingly bought himself a puppy. Initially intended to keep his girlfriend company while he was at sea, sailor “Blackie” Rother didn’t anticipate his girlfriend’s landlord having an issue with pets, and so he headed back to vessel Campbell with the well-intentioned present hidden inside his sea bag.
Sinbad, a brown and black mutt, was shortly discovered by the captain, who somewhat surprisingly saw the animal as an opportunity to teach his crew responsibility, ordering them to take care of the dog. Perhaps not far from the captain’s line of reasoning, taking care of Sinbad became a resource of bonding and comradery among the sailors. So much so, that Sinbad even became enlisted, signing his papers with a paw dipped in ink. His enlistment was taken seriously; he was promoted to Chief Dog after several years of being in 1st Class.
Sinbad lived to see 14 years of life with 11 of them proudly serving with the United States Coast Guard. He was buried with ceremony and officially recognized as a Coast Guard Cutterman, honoring the five years he spent on the Campbell in which he even witnessed wartime, and now his memory lives on as one of the most famous dogs in history.