June 21, 2026

Spar, the Coast Guard Dog in Dress Blues

One of the most decorated animals during World War II.

This is a photograph of a two-year-old Boston Terrier wearing a Coast Guard uniform and campaign ribbons. The cap tilted between her ears almost makes it look like dress-up. Her name was Spar, and she actually earned the decorations.

Spar served aboard the Coast Guard cutter Spencer during the Second World War. Unlike many military mascots, she served in a parachute jump and also in one of the Atlantic campaign's most famous submarine battles.

According to Coast Guard records, Spar shipped out as a puppy and spent her early years at sea alongside Spencer's crew. The cutter operated in the North Atlantic, escorting convoys through waters where German U-boats remained a constant threat. In April 1943, Spar was there when Spencer took part in the battle southwest of Ireland that led to the sinking of the German submarine U-175, one of the many hard-fought engagements that helped turn the tide of the Battle of the Atlantic.

At another point during the war, she found herself aboard an aircraft over Newfoundland. When the plane became crippled, Spar and her owner, Coast Guard Coxswain Harold L. Mottard of Boston, bailed out together.

The official caption of her photograph describes Spar as an adventurer who enjoyed both action at sea and "waterfront beverage emporiums," a phrase that feels wonderfully specific and very much of its era.

By the time this photograph was taken, she wore dress blues complete with a first-class yeoman rating, jump wings, and campaign ribbons earned during her time with the crew.

Not sure if Spar understood any of this, but we do know that she spent her wartime years alongside Coast Guardsmen serving in some of the world's most dangerous waters. And she left behind at least one story remarkable enough to earn a place in the archives.

Animals with jobs

More stories