A military officer poses for photos with his military working dog in front of a new memorial dedicated to military working dogs and their handlers at Australian War Memorial (AWM) in Canberra, Australia, Feb. 24, 2020. AWM on Monday unveiled a new memorial dedicated to military working dogs and their handlers. Monday is the National Day for War Animals in Australia. (Photo by Liu Changchang/Xinhua)
CANBERRA, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- The Australian War Memorial (AWM) on Monday unveiled a new memorial dedicated to military working dogs and their handlers.
Monday is the National Day for War Animals in Australia.
Brian Dawson, acting director of the AWM, said the new memorial serves as a reminder of the invaluable contribution of military working dogs, as well as the special bond between dogs and their handlers.
"The memorial is dedicated to all of the dogs that have worked for the Australian defence force since the First World War," said Steven Holland, the artist who created the memorial, in an interview with Xinhua.
"It is low to the ground and humble," he said. "The memorial features a paw print path that goes to the center of the memorial. And in the center is the ashes of a dog called Aussie."
Aussie, known as military working dog 426, served in Australian domestic and international operations including deployments to Afghanistan. It died in 2017 aged 16. The ashes were interred within the memorial on Dec. 4, 2019.
Creation of the memorial cost five months, with the help from an explosive detection dog named Billie and its handler Shane Kerswell. Billie was trained to walk in a tight circle on a bed of soft clay to create the paw-print track with spirals into the memorial, representing the steps of a dog as it circles into sleep.
In the center of the memorial is a piece of stone in the shape of a teardrop. "That piece of stone is special because it comes from the base of the Animals in War Memorial," said Holland.
When that memorial was completed in 2009, there was a slab of stone left. "The stone comes from China. It's Chinese granite," Holland said.
"The tear stone and the paw prints symbolize the remembrance of military dogs," he said. "Through their playfulness and curiosity, their intelligence and insight, their bravery and their faithfulness, they made a profound impact."
He welcomes visitors to walk on the paw print path, "so that they can walk in the steps of a military working dog on their path as they circle into sleep."
Holland said that in Australia, dogs work for different military branches, such as the Royal Australian Air Force and special forces. There are also explosive detection dogs and military police dogs.
In fact, working dogs were first used by the Royal Australian Engineers in 1918 when British dogs worked as messengers for Australian sappers in the trenches on the Western Front. The use of search dogs began during World War II.
"Dogs... have detected explosives, searched for and attacked the enemy, provided base security, and laid their lives on the line to save others," said Dawson. "The memorial is a fitting tribute to their loyalty, bravery and sacrifice."
The unveiling ceremony was participated by Darren Chester, the Australian Minister for Veterans and Defence Personnel.
