A new memorial will be erected on Tayside to commemorate Scotland’s dogs of war.
The memorial, funded by donations from around the world, will be installed alongside the beach at East Haven where Lt Col Edwin Richardson trained the dogs in the early 1900s.
Lt Col Richardson, who lived at Panbride House near Carnoustie, eventually convinced the government the Airedale was the right breed for war work.
Wendy Turner from the Airedale Terrier Club of Scotland said members were overjoyed to see this “magnificent monument” completed.
She said: “The Airedales played an incredibly important role during World War One and this beautifully carved monument depicts images of the various roles they played on the battlefield.
“The monument provides a lasting legacy for future generations.”
The club worked tirelessly with villagers to raise the tens of thousands of pounds required for the project.
Kirriemuir sculptor Bruce Walker carved the sculpture from a 30-tonne piece of granite which is believed to be one of the largest of its kind in the UK.
Mr Walker has been carving stone since 1963 and in 2012 he created the impressive Scott Wilson Memorial sculpture at Glen Prosen in Angus.
Wendy Murray from East Haven Together said: “Residents in East Haven are very proud to host the World War One monument as many people do not realise that the Airedale began its training in Panbride House and on the beaches of Carnoustie and East Haven.
“Thousands of Airedales died during active service in World War One so it is very fitting that a monument of this magnitude is sited in Angus to mark the place where their training began.”
The first four Airedales Lt Col Richardson and his wife trained were presented to Glasgow Police in 1905 and were stationed at Maryhill Police and Queens Park police stations in the city.
These were the first official police dogs in the United Kingdom.
The British Red Cross then used the dogs to locate injured soldiers on the battlefields and also carry first aid supplies and crates of carrier pigeons on their backs.
The breed was trained to wear gas masks and navigate the treacherous and often terrifying conditions of the front lines.
A war dog school was opened in Shoeburyness in Essex and the Richardsons moved there to manage the training of the breed.
Airedales were recruited from all over the UK and some pet owners donated their own pets to the war effort.
