The Washington herald., 1914-03-01
REAL DOGS OF WAR.
Mai. Richardson, of British Army,
Has Proven Their Value.


An interview with Mai. Richardson
proves concIusively how thorough in his
knowledge Of all details relating to war
and police dogs, and the exceptional
experience he has obtained in all parts
of the world under every conceivable
condition 1t has been his especial study
for nearly twenty years, and he has come
10 the now unalterable opinion, gained
from close scrutiny of the big continent
al powers. that the great future, from
a military point of view, lays in the
night sentry dog. for, coming right up
to date in the late Balkan war, they
proved their value over and over again.
In the various sorties in and around
Adrianople, in the majority of cases the
alarms were given by the dogs. Then.
again, before the battle of Derna, in
4 Tripoli, one of the Italian dogs gave the
alarm, and the troops had just time to
foIm up and repel heavy and furious
attack by the Arabs. Reverting again
TO the Balkans. they proved invaluable
AT Tchatalja In the AbOr campaign
Oh the Indian frontier Il brace Of MAJ
Richardson's war dogs accompanied the
force. and the following part of dis
patch referred to their efficiency:
Before the encounter Of November 4
one of the dogs accompanying the ad-
the presence of AbOrs. The dogs are
also employed at night time. being used
h. the Gurkha sentries, who keep them
on a chain to supplement their own
vigilance"
With this shot preamble We may say
that Mai Richardson originally made
his study OF war dogs in Germany. where
their aII-round utility has been long ap-
nreciated. and, after careful trials with
most breeds, he finds Airedales easily
the best, standing as they do all CHIMES
splendidly: they are most untiring, ana
can be used for ambulance work, mes
senger service, sentry and scouting duty
Mai Richardson considers the most I'M
portart fact not to be overlooked is that
after engagements and long marches the
trooDs are done up, and, further, after
an extended war the senses naturally are
ant 70 get biunted: this IS where tie
great value Of 4 canine sentry presents
itself. Scent tells frequently quicker
than sight" and a dog may often smell
4 foe long before he is within view, ana
as a companion in isolated outposts to
pickets and The solitary sentry, dogs S
company has in many instances proved
of the greatest value In the Russo-Japa-
nese war the last-named nation were
quick to see the great service dogs would
be i'm the field.
The following regiments in the British
army have dogs attached to them: The
Gordon and Seaforth Highlanders, Nor
folk regiments, the Gurkhas, sc: They
are also i'm goodly numbers at Gibraltar.
The admiralty, it also is interesting to
learn, think lot of dogs as guards, and
have them now at numerous naval sta
tons round the coast.
Coming TO the police dogs. these again
many times and oft prove their sagacity
and great value. and during the past two
or three years many have been pur-
chased by the guardians of the law. who
speak in the highest praise of their ca
nine servants. Amongst other places
where they are kept for duty may be
mentioned Glasgow. Liverpool. Noting
ham, Roehdale, Singapore. New York.
and Montreal. In the united provinces