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Tiny War Hero Lead Vital WWII Missions And Is Now Posthumously Honoured With RSPCA's Highest Honour

Tiny, Brave War Hero Nicknamed Yorkie Doodle Dandy Honoured With Medal
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An adorable yorkshire terrier isn't what a WWII soldier expected to find in a foxhole deep in the New Guinea jungle.

But there was Smoky, waiting for someone to take her home.

The young pup was picked up by a U.S soldier, who apparently sold her to Corporal William Wynne for two pounds -- but by the war's end, she proved herself to be priceless and will this Tuesday be bestowed Australia's highest animal honour.

As she traveled with Corporal Wynne, she learned to parachute from combat planes, completed a dangerous underground solo mission and when Wynne was unwell with Dengue Fever in hospital, Smoky or Yorkie Doodle Dandy as she was also known, became the world's first therapy dog, doing the rounds with nurses.

All up, Smoky was credited with 12 combat missions but her most dangerous was in 1945, when a teletype wire had to be laid beneath an airstrip in the Philippines.

Instead of closing the strip and exposing a team of men to enemy fire while they laid the cable above ground, the story goes that they put Smoky in an 8 inch pipe with a kite string tied to her collar.

Corporal Wynne then called to her from the far end of the pipe and despite darkness and blockages, she made it to the other side, dragging the string along with her.

At the end of the war, Wynne smuggled Smoky into the U.S. where she lived out her days in Ohio as a therapy dog.

Smoky will posthumously be awarded the RSPCA Australia Purple Cross Award in Wacol, Queensland on Tuesday.

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