Prince the brave Irish war dog followed his owner to WWI

One little dog from County Cork refused to let his owner go to the front lines of WWI alone, reuniting with him despite all the odds.

We've celebrated the heroic and brave actions of many Irish and Irish American human veterans of WWI, but the courage of one four-legged fighter is also very worth telling.

This is the story of Prince, a half Irish terrier half collie mix who made a stunning journey from County Cork to join his beloved human owner in the trenches of France.

Private James Brown left his wife and dog in Buttevant, Co. Cork in September 1914 to join the war. His wife soon moved to Hammersmith in London, Prince in tow. In November, she was distraught to discover that Prince was nowhere to be found and wrote a letter to her husband about his disappearance, fearing the worst.

There are varying theories about what happened next. Some say that Private Brown, who by then was stationed near Armentière, saw a dog who looked exactly like Prince, called to him, and was shocked to discover it was his own dog who came running straight over.

Another account tells it that a friend in the battalion first came across Prince and quickly reunited him with his master.

But in all cases, just how Prince made the journey from Hammersmith to track down Private Brown all the way in Armentière is a secret he kept between his furry ears for the rest of his days.

Prince was embraced by the battalion, fitted with his own simple uniform and tags. He kept the soldiers in high spirits with his tricks, and also served the practical role of ratter.

His service was noted at the time by the RSCPA, and his story recorded in the 1917 poem "A Soldier's Dog," penned by a Captain Newell, who tragically perished during a German airstrike in 1918.

Pince returned to England in 1919 and lived again with his master until July 1921, when a mouse chase proved to be too much after all his years of exertion.

Prince's story was revived for Amistance Day 2016.