My name is Katie Fitzpatrick. I am a junior history education major, who is working on her undergraduate thesis paper. The most important piece of advice given to me was to pick a topic that I am passionate about as well as a topic drives me enough to continue on even when the work gets frustrating. Fortunately, I found just that. I have worked with dogs since I was seven years old in a variety of venues including herding, agility, obedience, confirmation, tracking, and rally. Thus, the lingo of the dog world comes second nature to me. I look forward to incorporating my passion and knowledge into this year long thesis paper. The topic I am hoping to write about is the use of dogs in the military during World War II. I want to evaluate the different breeds the military used for different jobs and the training.
I enthusiastically dove right into researching everything I could about war dogs, the Dogs for Defense program, K9 Corps, etc. However, I have hit a road block in terms of gathering scholarly source material. I spoke with the military history professor as well as the head reference librarian on campus. Both told me I had chosen an interesting and unique topic that has a plenty of primary sources to tap into. Unfortunately, the three of us were discourage when we find that this does not appear to be the case. I was able to get my hands on History of Dogs For Defense, which seems to be a great source, but I hope to find some more substantial literature.
I am a particularly stubborn person and refuse to give up on this topic, especially since the lack of literature feels like there is a lack of recognition of all those who served, two or four legged. I want to thank you for taking the time to read this long post. If anyone could help, it would be greatly appreciated - event the smallest tip, piece of advice, a book to look at, etc. I want to dedicate my time and hard work into an important topic that matters and this is it for me.
I've been doing similar research, but more on the focus of legislation for the care, and respect given to Military Working Dogs. During my research I found the "Logan Haus Kennel," a West-Virginia based kennel that supplies mostly military trainers with Belgian Malinois, the preferred breed for elite special forces. I would also look up "Trikos International."
Try giving one of these guys a call or e-mail and see if they can help you out with more of the information you're looking for.