Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1906-11-01

eight.
If the animal is slow to understand
the object lessons he is frequently
teased and irritated by brigadier-
controleur. In extreme cases a slow
witted recruit Is maltreated and even
kicked and beaten little by the of.
ficial actor. simultaneously every
policeman in the station caresses the
dog and gives 1t dainties. 1t is no
wonder, then, that the dog at the end
OF his training is at once eager to
obey the commands of the police, and
more than eager to attack suspic.
ious looking person in civil clothes.
In many cases the central police
bureau maintains in it's grounds ar
tistically arranged walls, water
jumps and other obstacles, as we'll
as regular staff of officers skilled in
training these dogs. They accustom
new canine recruits to hearing re-
volver shots, to make flying leaps
exceeding six feet, and to attacking
fugitives in the bend of the knee.
They are trained in this last respect
by pull at the leash when they
jump for the neck. Thus, when the
policeman criminal" in charge of
the training feels the dogs muzzle
touch the back of his knee, he drops,
to show that the object is attained.
This operation often repeated, shows
the intelligent dog what the object
OF the pursuit is and how it may be
best accomplished. After time the
animal operates without being held
in leash, and yet instantly responds
to its masters whistle, no matter
how headlong may be the pursuit in
which it is engaged.
When an officer arrives on his peat
he releases his dog with the laconic
command, "Cherche. Instantly the
dog passes swiftly into ard around
farms and outhouses beyond the city
boundary. 1t knows all possible
places of concealment, for II during
the earlier stages of the training its
memory In this respect has bean lax.
morsels of meat have been placed in
remote corners as an infallible guide
to these places.
The dog does more scouting In ten
minutes than its we'll paid human
comrade could do In an hour. If 1t
barks or growls or In any way gives
notice of having found something
suspicious the patrol at once joins
the dog. Each night guard, by the
way, carries revolver with twenty
rounds of ball cartridge, a whistle.
handouts and dark lantern.
Strict orders are given to the men
to prevent their dogs from picking
up bones or tempting morsels on the
beat. Some superb animals were lost
before the chief commissioner and
his veterinary surgeon settled on the
diet, which now renders the dogs al.
most Indifferent to delicacies casually
found in the night.
The men are warned never to take
away the body of a dog colleague
suddenly poisoned while on duty.
The malefactor~argues that the pa
troll will take up the body of his
loyal and faithful friend and bear it
back to the bureau, so leaving the
field unguarded. The mere fact of
the poisoning of dog shows the
proximity of criminal on the beat,
so the patrol must call for aid from
the next round If he wants 1t and
push on in search of the criminal.
Afterward he must carry the dogs
body to the police abattoir, so that
the veterinary surgeon may hold q
post-mortem and determine the cause
of death. The poisons most COM
monty used are strychnine and prus-
sic acid. While on duty the dog
rarely quits the heels of its human
colleague, save to carry out the sharp
military words Of command, "Cher-
chez" "Attaque!" and so on; but It
will rush to aid an officer on a neigh
boring beat on hearing the shrill sig
nal for assistance.
Each canine "officer" costs the pio-
neer city of Client little more than
five cents day. M. van Wesemael
pointed out to me that thirty dog po-
lice cost the city only 1885 francs
year and did more than four times
the work that would have been ac-
complished by twelve men, who
would have cost at least $4,000
francs.
One of the first foreign police Of
ficers to inquire into and adopt the
dogs was M. Lepine, Police Prefect
of Paris. At first eight of these fine
beasts were bought for M. Lepine.
These, Paris pioneers-Pelvoux
Paris, Turco, Cesar, DArtagnan.
Meidje, Diana and Athos--became
the pets of all Paris, visitors and
residents alike. They proved so sue
cessful that their number was fast
increased, until now every one of
Lepine's agents piongeurs is accom-
panied on his rounds along the Seine
quays by chien sauveteur.
The alert German Minister of the
Interior sent police commissary into
Belgium to investigate for himself
the merits of the dog police. The re-
port of this official as to efficiency
and economy was so striking that
within three years $50 German cor
porations had also installed dogs as
auxiliary police, and were soon sat-
isfled, as also were many cities of
Austria, Hungary and Italy, OF the
canine policeman's superb sense of
duty. as we'll as Its loyalty, vigilance.
fidelity, and it's Indifference to bribes
and salary alike,