War Dog: the no man's land puppy who took to skies

In the winter of 1939 in the cold snow of no-man's-land, two loners met and began an extraordinary journey together, one that would bind them for the rest of their lives. One was an orphaned puppy, abandoned by his owners as they fled the approaching Nazi forces. The other, a lost soul of a different sort - a Czech airman, flying for the French Air Force but soon to be bound for the RAF and the country that he would call home.Airman Robert Bozdech stumbled across the tiny German Shepherd after being shot down during a daring mission over enemy lines. Unable to desert his charge, he hid the dog inside his flying jacket as he made his escape. In the months that followed the pair would save each other's lives countless times as they fled France and flew together with Bomber Command; the puppy - which Robert named Ant - becoming the Squadron mascot along the way. Wounded repeatedly in action, shot, facing crash-landings and parachute bailouts, Ant was eventually grounded due to injury. Even then he refused to abandon his duty, waiting patiently beside the runway for his master's return from every sortie.By the end of the war Robert and Ant had become very British war heroes, and Ant was justly awarded the Dickin Medal, the 'Animal VC'. Thrilling and deeply moving, their story will touch the heart of anyone who understands the bond that exists between one man and his dog.

A heartwarming story about an abandoned puppy and the World War II pilot who saved him.After getting shot down in the skies over France during a daring mission over the trenches in the winter of 1939, airman Robert Bozdech stumbled across a tiny German Shepherd puppy while engaged in his own nail-biting escape from no-mans-land. He hid the dog, who he named Ant, inside his jacket, and from that moment on an unbreakable bond was formed. In the years that followed, Robert and Ant would save each other's lives many more times. They flew together with Bomber Command over targets in Germany and beyond, both getting injured in the line of duty, and when Ant was eventually grounded by the RAF top brass he waited patiently on the runway for his master and his fellow pilots to return from each and every sortie.Perhaps inevitably, Ant became the mascot to Robert's squadron, the only such mascot to fly on combat missions, or to suffer so many brushes with death under enemy fire. French by birth, but British by his and his master's adopted nationality, by the end of the war Ant had become a very British hero - and it was only right when he was awarded the Dickin Medal, the "Animal VC."Thrilling and moving in equal measure, War Dog is a story of loyalty in the face of extraordinary adversity, and of the unshakeable bond between a man and his best friend.