Doc is part of an Army horse cavalry unit from Texas.
When the Army celebrates its 250th birthday on June 14, a date that just so happens to be President Donald Trump’s 79th birthday, the streets of Washington, D.C., will be filled with marching troops and tanks as World War II airplanes and Vietnam War-era helicopters swoop overhead.
Also included in the parade will be 34 horses, two mules, one wagon and a dog.
Army Col. Kamil Sztalkoper, a spokesman for the III Armored Corps, said the dog is a Blue Heeler (aka an Australian Cattle Dog) named “Doc Holliday” — likely a nod to the famous gunslinger played by Val Kilmer in the movie “Tombstone.”
Doc joined the Army’s 1st Cavalry Division Horse Cavalry Detachment at Fort Cavazos, Texas, more than two years ago as a young puppy, Sztalkoper said. Part of the unit, which is used mostly for community events, is a wagon pulled by two mules. Doc rides in the back of the wagon.
“This is nothing for him. He’s used to parades,” said Sztalkoper, noting that Doc has participated twice already in the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California. And while Doc falls “definitely in the sweet and playful category,” Sztalkoper said he “knows his place very well when it’s time for the parade.”