The Washington herald., 1917-05-09
Army and Navy News
Mobilize the dogsl''
Best Service Column I'm City.

1AODtAAAo inc 0OBks'
Ihis Is the cry OF dog fanciers through
out the country who are acquainted with
the wonderful work these animal auxili-
aries have done on the battlefields of Eu-
rope. 1t is hope dthe Army General STAFF
and the Council of National Defense will
not neglect department which has be-
come a valuable unit OF every great field
The dog. by its swiftness, by its acute
ness OF hearing and smell, combined with
extreme bravery and faithfulness to man,
can do many things better than its mas
ter and some which the two-legged SOL
dier cannot do at all.
Thousands of heroic dogs today are
seeking out the wounded hidden in brush
or gullies, delivering dispatches across
shell-swept fields where all telephone
wires are cut, patrolling before the fore
most human soldiers in advance move
ments, pulling Belgian machine guns into
position and dragging heavy loads over
fifteen feet OF snow in the mountain the
aters of war. Even in the trenches and
dugouts they are useful ridding the
netghborhood OF rats-a not unimportant
item, for wounded men are known TO
have been eaten alive by bands Of fam
ished rodents.
The United States has a splendid dog
reserve. All over the country are fine
kennels. Our dogs are almost entirely
unframed for war work, a very difficult
thing to teach, but II a start is made
now the brave animals will be ready to
go with our first division across the wa
ter.
For starter, We have the police dogs
OF our cities, mostly Airedales, who nose
out burglars in the suburbs, knock them
down and hold them until a patrolman
runs up. These dogs would have to re-
ceive additional training, but they are
one OF the types found available for the
stern business OF war
Alaskan Draft Dogs,
Another source of supply is the trained
draft dogs of Alaska. the huskies that
run the 40O-mile snow races every winter,
A hundred of these have been sent to
the Vosges and are highly valued by the
French. There are thousands more in
our northern territory which could be
used
Leo F. F. Warner, a leading dog breed
er Of East Hampstead, i. l., has written
to Newton d. Baker, Secretary OF War,
outlining the Importance OF dog pre-
paredness. The United States army has
no dogs in service today.
Mr.. Warner has made a thorough study
of European war dogs and In the ken
nels on his estate he has many animals
of the type required. Theseinclude thirty
German shepherd dogs, many OF which
have been prize winners on European
police forces and some of which have
seen service with the Red Cross in Bel
GUM.
He has offered the War Department
his services in organizing all the likely
dogs on Long Island and will give up
his own dogs as a nucleus.
Twenty of the Warner dogs are already
trained for war work The dog FLAX
broke all records on the western front
for bringing in wounded men. Mira. an
Intelligent bitch, recently trailed a burg |
lar successfully.
Four breeds OF dogs are suitable for
war service. according to Mr.. Warner |
They are Rottweilers, Doberman Pinscn- |
ers, Airedales and German shepherd dogs.
or these he thinks the last named are
the best. Training them takes at icast
a year. German shepherd dogs are worth
from 1900 to 5000
Bring in Wounded.
Mr.. Warner said dogs are especially
useful in bringing in the wounded. be-
cause of the tendency of injured soldiers
to crawl out of the heat Of the sun or
cover themselves with brush and leaves
On many occasions 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
men that had been overlooked. The
dogs are also especially useful In search
ing for wounded at night.
Many Of Europe's war dogs have re-
ceived government medals for valorous
deeds. Monuments have been erected to
the memory of dogs who died "on the
field OF honor" Just how many lives
they have saved Is not known, but Il is
in the tens of thousands
When the war began Prussia as in
many other departments OF war prepara-
ton, had fine dog corps, while France
had just one trained war dog and Brit
ain 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 the French
War Dogs Service and of the Military
Kennels Of the Seventh Army Vosges
and AlsaCe) In a recent Paris news
paper article he says:
If there ever was the question IL is a
question no more-the dogs have given
their proof as auxiliaries Of our field
armies. There even were fanciers who.
at the beginning of the war. would not
believe in the immense services which
dogs could render and they had to bow
before the reality of proven facts.
"One of our most eminent writer's on
in the introduction to a small manual on
the training of dogs for defense: The in
telligence Of the dog is Up to everything
which he might be required TO learn "