Shelter Dogs and Cats

At the National Service Animals Memorial, tribute is paid to all shelter dogs and cats through a heartfelt sculpture of a shelter Golden Retriever and mixed breed shelter cat.

Animals bring out the best in all of us, filling us with unselfish love and goodwill.

Paramount importance must be given to rescuing all of the lost and frightened animals in our country and make every effort to treat them well.

Some shelter dogs and cats have the temperament and intelligence to train as service animals.

Cats in Service

Although the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not consider any creature besides a dog or a miniature horse to be an official service animal, cats often serve as emotional support for their owners, sometimes volunteer in hospitals as therapy pets, and have also long played a role in the military as companions and excellent ratters.

The Story of Simon, Dickin Medal Recipient

Simon

In the summer of 1949, at the height of the Chinese Civil War, HMS Amethyst came under People’s Liberation Army artillery fire while cruising along the Yangtze river. The ship’s captain, Lieutenant Commander Skinner, died when an artillery shell blew a 15-foot hole in the bulkhead and many others were injured, including the ship’s cat, Simon.

HMS Amethyst received more than 50 direct hits and despite the efforts of a passing Navy Frigate to pull it to safety, the ship and the crew members left on board ended up stranded in mid-river for almost 10 weeks.

Hot, humid conditions were the perfect breeding ground for a rat infestation. The already limited food supplies were in danger of being completely destroyed. Despite shrapnel wounds to his legs and burns to his back and face, Simon was all that stood between the rats and the crew’s essential supplies.

The rats were big and fierce, and had even attacked crew members, but this didn’t stop Simon from hunting them down. One particularly vicious rat, nicknamed Mao Tse-tung, carried out repeated attacks on the meagre food supplies. When Simon killed it, the crew were so impressed they promoted Simon to ‘Able Seaman’ in recognition of his achievement.

As the weeks went by, Simon continued protecting supplies and lifting his injured shipmates’ morale when accompanying the Maintenance Officer on his daily rounds. Simon later received the Amethyst campaign ribbon for ‘distinguished and meritorious service… single-handedly and unarmed stalk down and destroy ‘Moa Tse-tung’ a rat guilty of raiding food supplies which were critically short. Be it further known that from April 22 to August 4, you did rid HMS Amethyst of pestilence and vermin, with unrelenting faithfulness’.