Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-05-20
MOBILIZE AMERICAN
DOGS Fer WAR SERVICE
Financiers Throughout Nation Real.
iHe Value OF Trained CANNES, and
advocate Extensive Reserve.
HUNTING DOGS DANDY TYPE
Thousands OF Animals Broken tc
Field Work Could &c Made Ready
i'm Short Order-ilaskan Dogs En-
cellent-Thcir Value Proved.

This is tho cry Of dog fancicrs
throughout the country who are ac
puaiutcd with the wonderful work
these animal auNiiiares have done
on tho battle fields OF Europe. 1t Is
hoped the Army General Staff anG
the Council of National Defense will
not neglect department which has
herom" q valuable unit OF every srea,
field force.
The dog. by ,is swiftncss. by its
! a"ut"n.ss Of hearing and smell. COM
oined wIth eNtrem. bravery and
fa'thfuineSs TO man, can DO MANY
things better than its master and
some which the :wo-lcGCcd soldier
( cannot do at all.
thousands Of heroic dogs to-day
are seeking out the wounded hidden
in brush or gullics, delivering dis
patches across shcli-swcpt fields
pntrollinc before the foremost human
soldiers IN advance movements i;ull.
ing Belgian machine guns into posi-
! ton and dragging heavy loads over
| theatcrs OF war. Even in The
| trenches and dusouts they arc useful
Kidding the ucighborhood OF rats-a
not unimportant item. for wounded
mon are known to have been eaten
! alive by bands OF furnished rodents.
Tho United states has u splendid
| dog reserve. All over tho country
arc tine Kennels. our dogs are al
most entirely unframed for
work. a very difficult thing TO teach
but If "A start is made now tho brave
animals will he ready To 20 with our
first division across tho water.
! For a starter. We have tho police
| dogs Of our cities. mostly Aircdalee,
! who nose out burglars in tho suburbs,
| knock them down and hold them un-
! I'll patroman runs up. These dogs
! would have to receive additional train
| ing. but they are one of the types
ILL.,
/ OF war.
Alaskan Dogs Excellent.
! Another source of supply is the train
/ cd draft dogs of Alaska the huskiea
/ that run tho 800 mile SNOW races every
| winter. \ hundred of these have been
| sent to the Nosges and arc highly val
| ucd by the French. There are thou
| sands more in our northern territory
| which could be used.
Leo +. +. Warner. a leading dog
! breeder OF lHast HempStcad. Lon:
Island. has written to Newton d. Baker,
Secretary OF War, outlining the inn
portance Of dog preparedness. The
| United states Army has no dogs In
service to-day.
Mr.. Warner has made thorough
study of European war dogs and in
| the kennels on his estate he has many
| animals OF the type required. These
| include thirty German shepherd dogs
/ many OF which have been prize win
ners on European police forces. and
some of which have seen service with
| the Red Cross in Belgium.
and are young men.
MIR. Warner said dogs are espccial-
| ~ useful in bringing i'm tho wounded,
because OF the tendency Of Injured
soldiers to crawl out of the heat OF
the sun or cover themselves with
| brush and leaves. On many occa-
sons in the present war when the
ambulance men had given up the
! search. believing they had found all
the wounded. the dogs have been sent
out and have discovered fifty or
more men that had been overlooked.
/ The dogs arc also especially useful in
| searching for wounded at night
When the war began. Prussia as in
| many other departments Of war pre-
| paration had a fine dog corps. whilo
| France had just one trained war dog
aud Britain none. America must not
neglect this side of her preparations
| for the fray.
Paul MeGnin. who owned the first
French war dog. is chief OF Tho
| Military Kennels Of the seventh
F, Army tVosGcs and Aisacc). In "a re-
! cent Paris newspaper article he says:
! IF there ever was the question II
given their proof as auxiliarics OF
! our field armies There even we're
/ tancicrs who. at the beginning OF
| the war. would not believe in tho
| 'h'itthHc SERVICES Wnitn dogs could
| render. and they h;t,l to bow before
the reality Of proven facts.
serve Advance ScntIncIS.
| The c"mmoncSt service which il re-
! CURED "f the dog is TO bc an auxiliary
of our advanced scntincls This doc
! every night occupies a more or less
! long position in postc d'ccoutc lis
| tening point. in a hole made by shells
! behind Il rock or tree. in a ditch
etc The night is dark. the fog thick
and the sentinel. whatever he his power
| of attention. whatever be his power OF
! vision. cannot sec or hear the enemy
patrols who advance. The dog on the
! contrary. when he has passed through
| proper training. will hear. for the
| dogs power Of hearing is effective mt
distance of 100 TO $50 yards. and no
| hears the smallest sound He will not
bark. for then he would become dan
/ gerous for our posts. for our sentincls
! He viii only growl deeply. or he
! VIII otherwise. by scratching the
around. by moving his tail by pricking
up his ears. show that something is
taking place. and the sentinel will
then be on his guard. his attention
| Will be awakened. and he will have
time TO send tor acknowledgements. A.
| ter a few days OF work in the first
lines the sentinel dog who viii have
understood his new occupation. be-
comes mpassioned. and he shows that
| in many joyful ways. exactly like a gun
dog when the shooting man takes down
! his gun.
AS to the dispatch dog (chicn ds
| liatson). his training is more delicate
and requires more work IT is neces-
sary that the dog have certain nat
ural qualities, such 4 very we'll
| developed Intelligence and u very pow
! erful nose. The dispatch dog works
/ day and night He may rest five or six
! consecutive days. and then have to
work two days and two nights without
! cessation. resting very little and eat
| ing only when he has time. The dis
| patch dog must carry the dispatches
| rapidly between the corps commanders.
! An intelligent and fast courier re-
| places the agent dc laison." and even
the appetizimg smell of the "soupe!5
would be unable to make him deviate
| from his route. 3
Patrol Dogs Of Grent Use. az