Exhibit About Maritime Pets Cruises Into Annapolis
By SARAH HAINESWORTH/The Capital
ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) -- No one can resist the allure of a cute kitten or a fluffy dog.
Even the strongest and toughest of Marines.
That notion is apparent in "Creature Comforts," an exhibit at the Eastport Yacht Club that tells the history of maritime pets in the military.
On loan from the CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum in British Columbia, the exhibit, which features animals aboard military ships from World War I through the Korean War, is being facilitated by the Museum of Maritime Pets.
"Cats and dogs were traditional mascots but during the wars, countries traded animals," said Patricia Sullivan, CEO of the museum, which doesn't yet have a permanent home.
This included creatures as small as rabbits and parrots to animals as large as reindeer.
"Parrots were known to be favorite maritime pets because they're amusing and they pick up words, but monkeys were also very popular," Sullivan said.
Even a bear and two lion cubs got their turn aboard a wartime vessel.
In addition to their roles as companions, the animals also helped with pest control and communication.
"People think of pets as pets, but especially hundreds of years ago, before we had modern ways of communicating, animals were important," Sullivan said.
Carrier pigeons were used to deliver messages that were too risky to transmit by radio and a change in behavior among cats aboard the ships would let the sailors know that a storm was on the way, she said.
A rabbit named Handy Built was the mascot for the crew of the HCMS Haida and was renowned for his instinct of detecting nearby submarines. He would jump around in his cage when sonar contact occurred with an enemy submarine.
Some animals were awarded medals as a thank-you for the services they provided.
Others got different treats.
Wriggles, a bear who tagged along with the crew of the HMCS Thiepval after their trip to Hokkaido, Japan, in 1924, was so well-loved that sailors built him a treehouse at their base and even brought him along to the bar.
Sinbad, a mixed breed puppy smuggled aboard the Coast Guard cutter Campbell in 1938, went down in Coast Guard history. He served onboard the Campbell for 11 years and even drank whiskey and beer with the sailors on liberty. He had a biography written about him.
The exhibit, which opened to the public Nov. 22 and ends in January, includes pictures of several different animals and books on their adventures.
"It's kind of heartwarming to just walk through this and see how important animals were in our lives and the lives of our military," said Carey Kirk, past Yacht Club commodore.
"You don't even have to be a pet owner. It's fascinating to look at these photos and see how critical the roles were that the animals served."
Sullivan pointed out a similarity among the sailors in the photos.
"They're all smiling," she said. "You can tell, they're just so happy with the animals."
When you go
What: "Creature Comforts"
Where: Eastport Yacht Club, 317 First St., Annapolis
When: 5 to 8 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays; noon to 4 p.m. Sundays, from this Sunday through Jan. 3
More information: www.eastportyc.org
(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)
