In the summer of 1545, a massive French fleet of nearly 200 warships sailed across the English Channel on a mission to invade England. Met by the naval forces of King Henry VIII off Britain’s southern coast near Portsmouth, the Battle of Solent ensued. While two-days of naval skirmishes resulted in no clear victor, the invasion attempt by France was ultimately turned back.
The only casualty of the sea battle was the king’s flagship, the Mary Rose. More than 400 sailors perished when the vessel sank, including a beloved four-legged member of the crew. A terrier-type dog named Hatch, whose job was to kill rats, also went down with the ship.
Dogs on naval warships date back thousands of years. Hieroglyphics show dogs on Egyptian vessels and historical records indicate dogs serving on ancient Roman ships. Even the USS Constitution, one of U.S. Navy’s original ships commissioned in 1797, was home to a cherished mascot terrier known as Guerriere.
Due to increased formalized regulation, logistical challenges and a more modern naval structure, dogs on U.S. warships were phased out after World War II. Recently, however, the U.S. Navy has changed course and in 2022 launched the Expeditionary Facility Dog program, a quality-of-life initiative for sailors serving on board ships as a reaction to concern about the mental health of sailors.
In 2023, Captain Demo, a golden retriever-labrador mix, joined the crew of the USS Eisenhower (CVN-69) as a morale and emotional support dog to test the new concept that is being overseen by the Force Improvement Office in Norfolk, Va. Over the past two years, morale dogs were also placed on three other Atlantic Fleet ships.
“The goal of the pilot program is so that if people start getting into a bad cycle and the domino starts falling, if we can stop that next domino, we can interrupt the cycle,” said Terri Farricker, team lead of the pilot program and force improvement officer for the Naval Air Force Atlantic command.
This year, the program has migrated to the West Coast. A black lab named Raider was trained as the morale dog for sailors on the USS Makin Island (LHD-8). Raider’s training was conducted by Shelter to Soldiers, a non-profit organization in San Diego that adopts dogs from local shelters and trains them to be psychiatric service dogs for veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress.
The USS Midway Museum has been a financial and promotional supporter of Shelter to Soldiers for more than three years, and helped the organization with Raider’s training to condition him to life on board a naval ship.
“It takes about six months of dedicated training to prepare the dog for the role of morale dog,” said Nicky More, the director of training and operations for Shelter to Soldiers. “They learn advanced obedience, manners and compression therapy for providing extra physical comfort to sailors. Through our partnership with the USS Midway Museum, they also learn to traverse the unique ship environment and become acclimated to the sights, sounds and smells of a U.S. Navy vessel, including negotiating steep ladderwells.”
Shelter to Soldier actually began making morale visits with dogs to ships stationed in San Diego as a part of its Canine Ambassador Therapy Dog program in 2023. The visits were such a huge hit with the crews that they began asking about taking a dog on deployment with them.
“We knew there were some aircraft carriers on the East Coast that had welcomed dogs aboard,” said Nicky, a graduate of Animal Behavior College’s Professional Dog Training Certification program. “We did a little research and went through the process to get approval with our first ship partner, the USS Makin Island.”
A Navy ship, unlike a brick-and-mortar house or apartment, has unique physical characteristics that require repetitive exposure to properly adapt dogs like Raider to shipboard life. Steep ladders and narrow passageways can initially be daunting obstacles that take practice to overcome and instill confidence in the dog. Midway proved to be a perfect platform for Raider’s training.
“We are honored to play a small part in Shelter to Soldiers’ newest mission of preparing morale dogs to be part of the crew on naval warships,” said Dominic Boccia, Midway’s safety director. “Raider and his fellow morale dogs will bring comfort, support and joy to the sailors and Marines they serve. We’re proud to help support their incredible journey.”
Several Makin Island crew members have been chosen to be Raider’s handlers, and his health care will be overseen by the ship medial staff. The crew is thrilled to welcome their new furry four-legged shipmate.
“The crew is very excited for Raider to be on board,” said Lt. Cmdr. Emily Deloria, Makin Island’s senior medical officer. “We have been having morale dogs visit every few weeks for the past year, and sailors love to visit and play with the dogs when they are around. I think Raider will improve overall morale, reduce stress burdens, and provide comfort during long stretches of being underway when we miss our families and pets back home. I hope he will also help destigmatize sailors seeking out care from other resources we have on board such as medical, chaplains, counselors or other advocates that we all can benefit from.”
“Think of the morale dog as the ship’s best stress relief — no judgment, no expectations, just tail wags, comfort, and a reminder that someone’s always glad to see you,” said Nicky, who joined Shelter to Soldier in 2017. “The morale dog will serve as a four-legged crew member, boosting resilience, lowering stress and strengthening connection across the ship. This will help sailors feel supported so they can perform at their best.”
True to Shelter to Soldiers’ mission, taking in canines that have otherwise been given up on is serving a higher purpose, both for the dogs and those around them.
“We’ve seen that rescue dogs thrive when given a second chance and a new purpose in life,” said Nicky, who also has a bachelor’s degree in business management. “For dogs like Raider, spreading love to and being adored by a thousand shipmates every day is exactly the kind of life they dream of when living in a 15-square-foot kennel run in an overcrowded shelter. We’ve seen the life-changing impact our dogs have on veterans, and the morale dog program allows us to extend that. I couldn’t be more proud to be a part of that.”
“We are excited,” said Emily, an internal medicine physician who earned her doctor of medicine degree from the Uniformed Services University in 2016. “There is a little bit of pressure since we are one of the first ships, but we have had great training by Shelter to Soldier to care for Raider, so I am confident in him, the crew and the handlers. Raider is truly the best and loves his job. We are honored to have him as part of our Makin Island family.”
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