AUSTRALIA’S best known and much-loved war dog, Sarbi, will have a new fur-ever home – and her thousands of fans will be able to visit her.
Sarbi will “live” on in perpetuity in the heart of the Australian War Memorial when a new exhibition opens next week with the hero hound as the star attraction.
Sarbi back on Australian soil
The mortal remains of the highly decorated Explosive Detection Dog were donated to the war memorial by her trainer and handler, Warrant Officer David Simpson (ret) and his wife, Kira, and have been preserved in taxidermy.
“Sarbi looks really good. I am very confident people, especially children, will be attracted to her,” memorial director, Dr Brendan Nelson told me. “Dave gave advice on Sarbi’s characteristic pose…she has her paw up and that nice smiling face.”
Sarbi died from brain cancer in early 2015. The 12-year-old had completed three deployments to Afghanistan with Simpson as part of the elite EDD Section in the Australian Army. She has the highest number of decorations of any war animal, among them the prestigious Purple Cross for animals that have shown outstanding courage in service to humans.
She is one of dozens of highly skilled sniffer dogs who have served in Afghanistan since 2002, saving the lives of thousands of their fellow two-legged soldiers by seeking out the enemy’s lethal explosive devices.
“I think Sarbi, in representing all of these dogs, stimulates our imagination to reflect on the loyal and loving nature of these animals and their skills,” Dr Nelson said.
Sarbi with her signature tell – her paw raised
“The bond between these dogs and their handlers is just as strong as that as between the men and women themselves.”
The beautiful Newfoundland-Labrador cross joins other preserved four-legged heroes at the memorial including a horse, which represents the Light Horsemen of the Australian Imperial Force, and a camel, which also served in the First World War in the Camel Corps. My bet is that Sarbi will become as popular as the legendary racehorse, Phar Lap, who is on display at Museum Victoria.
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