El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-12-03
DOCS
SAVE MANY LIVES
Find Wounded Soldiers Who
Otherwise Would Be
Overlooked.

Paris. France, Dec. 5.-NOtWithstand-
ing much that has already been record
ed of them, the ambulance dogs nave
not yet been given full recognition Tor
the part they are playing IN the war
DR., KTesser of the National Society
of Ambulance dogs, discussing the gen.
eral usefulness of the dog IN 1leld am
bulance work, said this usefulness had
become greater in proportion to the de-
velOpment Of modern methods Of a
fare.
fighting from the ground, under any
cover he can find" he said, creeping
through thickets, hiding in bitches, be-
hand hedges and every spot that is ike
" to conceal him from the enemy.
Naturally the same cover hides him from
the view of the stretcher bearers pick
ing up the wounded after the battle
This duty is further compllcated IDy
the fact that it must be done at night,
as the intensity of fire makes 1t impOs-
sible to pick up wounded on the field
during an engagement In TINS WORK OF
seeking the at night the am
buIance dog becomes indispensable,
since lights are forbidden to the
stretcher bearers for fear Of exposing
positions to the enemy consequently
the salvation of hundreds OF
soldiers depends upon the sharp scent
intelligence and devotion Of the m
bulance dog.
French Shepherds Are Best.
The French ambulance dog is the
French shepherd, an anlmal Whlch is
proved to be far better adapted to the
work than the German shepherd dog
formerly employed in the French army,
because the German dog is more Ie-
rocious and is taught to fight the enemy
as well as to discover the wounded of
his own troops. The French dog Is
taught to seek the wounded Of the enc
my's troops as well as his own lie is
as gentle as he is faithful and. as IN
AIa naua Of Tom , ig the net of MS COM
pany."
The ease of Tom is thus:
CASTOR Durand of the 30th infantry
fell in one of the violent engagemenIs
in the Argonne forest, wounded IN the
arm by a fragment Of a shell, with a
bullet in his jaw and nearly scalped Dy
a blow from a saber. He tried to rise,
but a heavy weight fell upon MIN ana
then he lost consciousness. The first
thing he became aware Of was 1eellng
that resembled a caress upon MS Tore
head. He opened his eyes and there was
Tom, one of the ambulance dogs, aftec-
tionately tapping his torn head. He
tried to rise, but heavy weight that had
borne him down was still there. 1t was
the body Of one of his comrades VINO
had fallen with a bullet through MS
impossible to extricate himself. he
finally succeeded in getting TO a SIT
ting posture. His cap was gone and
A4dL EApA4AAE0 WHY 4-G
back to the ambulance for help. Durand
looked, and Tom searched but no cap
was to be found. GO, Tom, and fetch
the comrades" Durand cried. A half
hour later Tom went into camp ana
selling the first soldiers. coat IN ms
teeth, began tugg1ng at MIN. me Sol
der did not understand. Then rom
barked aDpealingly but with no more
effect. FINALLY he barked m~enacingly,
with no result. Then the doctor came
! along. He understood and Tom gave, a
yelp of joy when he realized tbat ne
had succeeded. Directed by him
I doctor and the stretcher bearers soon
| found Durand, hidden in a thlckeL
/ where probably he would have passed
! unnoticed until he la either starved or
died from his wounds, had it not been
HOvvIs for Aid.
Toms is not an Isolated incident of
I the devotion of the ambulance dog. A
! case is reported from the vicinity OF
/ Verdun in which a dog discovered a
/ soldier who had been wounded IN the
mead and who had received flrst alu
from one Of his comrades, VINO after
/ wards had been obliged 10 aDandOh
/ him. His cap had also been lost ana the
dog could find nothing that he could
/ carry back to the ambulance 70 report
his find, but he had the lnleLlseuGe
not to touch the bandage on the SOL
| dier's head. Finally, despairing OF tlna-
ing anything he could carry c ne
Law down on the ground opposite the
man anu uOM4Su uiSA4"S
til help came.
snye Hundreds of Lives.
DR.. Vertier, surgeon in the 18th army
corps. reports that the ambulance dogs
in his corps nave saved hundreds Oh
/ lives and that not in a single instance
have thew mistaken a dead body for a
wounded man. In some cases where
the soldiers car could not be found the
dog has torn open his knapSach any
hunted out something that he couIu
carry back to show that he had maze
a discovery. .u
The National society for the training
~ these animals into the field and Il
more are soon to 60. DR.. Troussaint a.
rector of the sanitary service at ny
ministry of war has authorlzeq N
training of stretcher bearers with ny
dogs. so that they may be able to WQLh
better in harmony, the dog Tie
man and the man knowing Il oos'