Roland Perry - Horrie, The War Dog

In the harsh Libyan desert during the Second World War, Private Jim Moody, a signaller with the 1st Australian Machine Gun Battalion, found a starving puppy on a sand dune. Moody called the little dog Horrie. Much more than a mascot, Horrie's exceptional hearing picked up the whine of enemy aircraft two minutes before his human counterparts and repeatedly saved the lives of the thousand strong contingent. The Egyptian Terrier's ritual of sitting, barking, then dashing for the trenches, had the gunners running for cover before their camp was attacked and bombed.

Horrie accompanied Moody through the battle zones of the Middle East and far beyond. As the Japanese forces spread across Asia, Moody and his mates joined the fight, smuggling Horrie onto a troop ship and a harrowing journey back to Australia. Once the war was over. Moody brought Horrie out of hiding to raise money for the Red Cross and the brave little dog’s story became widely known. When quartile officers pounce, demanding the dog be put down, there was a public outcry. How could a cruel bureaucracy heatless kill this little four-legged hero? Was Horrie condemned to die or could Moody devise a scheme to save him?

In the finest ANZAC tradition, Horrie the War Dog is a story of intrigue and illusion, and of sacrifice, courage and loyalty. Best-selling author, Roland Perry, tells this remarkable true story for the first time.