Big dogs for officers, little dogs for enlisted men

LoyaltyOfDogs

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I haven't had an opportunity to read the 2018 book "General Custer, Libbie Custer and Their Dogs," but according to its author, Brian Duggan, officers' dogs tended to be larger than enlisted men's dogs. It certainly makes sense that dogs who were big required more food and were more difficult to transport, when that was needed, and that officers would be better able to provide for a large dog's greater needs. Now I keep noticing the size of the dogs in Civil War photos, illustrations, and written accounts, and how it might relate to the rank of their soldiers. I'm sure there were many exceptions, but here are a few depictions that fit that pattern.

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And one of my favorite exceptions!

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You don't seem to see many really small dogs as army pets/mascots. Your naval pooch is an exception (small dogs might be a better fit aboard ship). Most of those I've seen have been what I would consider "middle-sized." But the larger ones do seem to be officers' dogs.
No, not many very small ones, other than a sketch in the LOC that I'm thinking of. I'll try to find it. Good point about small dogs on ships. Except for these two medium-size spaniels with the officers on the Miami, all the dogs I've seen with sailors have been small dogs.

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Actually the "pet" was more likely to end up in someone's stew pot 😯
Sad to say, dogs sometimes did too, and not just in wartime prisons, though more than a few of those instances appear in soldiers' memoirs. A few accounts involved grim practical jokes soldiers played on members of other regiments as retribution.
 
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