BECERRILLO, THE WAR DOG

                    Dogs have been used in war since ancient history.  The earliest mention was in a history of King Alyattes, King of Lydia, around 600 B.C. In 525 B.C., at the Battle of Pelusiam, Persian Emperor Cambyses put dogs, cats, and other animals in the front to get the Egyptians to think twice about shooting arrows.  Dogs were used at the Battle of Marathon and Emperor Xerxes had a pack of Indian hounds during his invasion of Greece in 480 B.C.  The Romans used a breed called Canis Molossus.  When Julius Caesar invaded Britain, his men had to deal with English mastiffs.  Attila the Hun, of course, had large war dogs.  Throughout history dogs have been used as messengers, trackers, guards, and, most recently, to sniff out bombs. The Soviets even tried to strap explosives to dogs to blow up German tanks in WWII.  In Vietnam, they were effective in warning of enemy attacks.  A dog was used on the mission that killed Osama Bin Laden.

                   But the most notorious use of war dogs was by the Spanish conquistadors.  Columbus brought them on his voyages to intimidate the natives.  In 1495, he had 20 Spanish mastiffs.  These dogs could reach 250 pounds.  They were sicked on the Arawak Indians.  “Tomalos!” meant “take them”.  The dogs would attack and tear the Indians apart, literally.  Balboa, Cortes, De Soto, Coronado, and Pizarro were some of the conquistadors who used them.                

                    The most infamous was Ponce de Leon’s Becerrillo (“little bull”).  This huge mastiff was used during the conquest of Puerto Rico in 1508.  He was taught to distinguish between Spaniards and natives.  He was used in battle, but also to track down escaped natives.  Imagine him chasing you.  Historian Bartolome de las Casas, the historian who was harsh on Spanish methods, described how Becerrillo “attacked his enemies with frenzied rage and defended his friends with great courage…”  It was said that he was worth 50 soldiers.  Once he warned of a night attack and then waded into the attackers killing 33.  On the other side of the coin, he once showed some compassion.  A conquistador gave a message to an old Indian woman and told her to bring it to the Spanish governor.  But it was just a ruse to provide some sick entertainment.  Once the lady had started on her task, Becerrillo was told to “tomalos”.  The old woman dropped to her knees and prayed:  “Please, my Lord Dog. I am on my way to take this letter to Christians. I beg you, my Lord Dog, please do not hurt me.”  Becerrillo halted and walked away from the woman.  His reign of terror came to an end in 1514.  His master was captured by the Carib Indians.  He chased after them, but they were able to get in their canoes.  Undaunted, the dog jumped in the water and swam after them.  He made an easy target and was soon hit my numerous arrows which proved to be deadly.  He was mourned by the Spaniards.  He was a bad dog, but his owners were evil

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-ancient-traditions/becerrillo-0014283?fbclid=IwAR2v3coUpKZThy_Mh_smkPoR5hea6w_YmfQRZWPOERGo3yS2cg53bVlLKKQ

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogs_in_warfare