Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1908-03-09
CANINE POLICE SQUAD
Duties Planned to Be Performed
BY New York Corps of Dog
Cops
TO PATROL POSTS WITH MEN

Clever Animals Taught TO Trip Up
Suspicious Persons on tho Run.
They Know Bad Men From Good
Nearly Every Time.
If you are running for car In the
Bronx section Of New York at 8 o'clock
in the morning and muzzled dog
looking like O. cross between a collie
and a bull terrier barks at you, one OF
the best things to do is to stop. You
will stop anyway, willy nilly. and
probably ut the cost Of q bruised shin,
for the dog belongs to the new canine
police squad. and the first thing he
does when he sees a suspicious looking
person on the run is to dash In be-
tween his legs and send him on his
collar bone This Is because It's the
first rule in the code book of the new
canine patrol squad No. !, N. Y. p. D..
says the New York Sun.
The new squad Of police dogs Is fully
trained, and there always will be this
insurance against their biting piece
out Of respectable citizen under the
impression that he Is second story
man-they can't. Each doggie cop Is so
muZzled that he can drink water, bark
vehemently and have his nose petted.
but cannot eat poisoned meat from
some false friend, inadvertently chew
up the pillars Of society or accept
bologna from butcher who wants to
keep open after hours.
The dogs have been in training for
their duties since they were brought
over from Client, Belgium. a few
months ago. These dogs Of this half
collie half lnastiff breed have been
used in police work for years with
good results, Third Deputy Commits
sioner Arthur Woods determined to
get some dogs to use In the outlying
precincts of New York to fight the
summer epidemics Of attacks on chill
dren and help oct the police with tie
long beats all the year around.
He at first thought Of b.oodhounds.
but these dill not seem practicable. AT
the suggestion of Robert l.. Bacon, q
son Of the assistant secretary OF state.
MIR. Woods sent Lieutenant George X.
Wakefield over to Belgium to look at
the police dogs Of Brussels. Client and
other cities. Wakefield liked the meth
dds of Client best. bought four Client
puppies and an English Airedale to ex-
pertinent with and brought them over.
Since then three policemen have been
having the time of their lives playing
with the dcggies. Wakefield and Pa
trolmen Charles Beerman and Miles
Mcdonald are the lucky cops whose
daily Job has been to go to South
Washington park and train five f-olic-
some pups how to be good policemen.
| One Of the Belgians quickly showed
, that he would never make a cop and
was stricken from the probationary list
The squad have been taught one
thing at time. First came obedience
to orders like Come to heel" After
him, boy" and the like. Next came
knowing n policeman in uniform and
always working with the uniform.
More difficult than this was learning to
distinguish policeman's whistle from
other whistles. Now the dogs will pick
out a policeman's every time and run
{ in it's direction.
Another accomplishment these four
footed Dogberrys are now up on Is
that of paying no more attention to a
fusillade Of revolver bullets than a
tried retriever pays to volley of bird
shot The highwayman test is another
one. The part of the highwayman Is
taken by the man who has been feed
ing the dogs and with whom ordinary
dogs would be friendly.
Strange cop walks up, with Fido cop
trotting obediently at heels. Out
springs Mr.. Highwayman and falls
upon strange cop. Fido cop realizes at
once that it is case Of being true to
either duty or his dinner. Hesitate:
Not Re. One glance at the blue uni
form of bis friend. and to his assist
ance he flies. Mr.. Highwayman natu,
rally i. ~" -" and out. W.