The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-07-11
A WAR RECORD
IN KILLING RATS
-
One Small Irish Terrier Has Ac-
counted For More
Than 74,119
Rodents. =
From Answers, London,


Dogs Of war" are again in the fore
front of the news from he battlefields
in France. 1t is timely, accordingly to
tell Of a dog which holds one Of the
most interesting records that has been
made on the western front since the
war began. 1t is the rat killing record.
The dog that holds it is a little brown
yellow, Irish terrier, Of the feminine
sex, whose name, though 1t ought to be
Boadicea or Amazon, or something
equally warlike, is the eminently maid
emily one Of Norah.
Norah, until her return to England q
few weeks ago, had been in France for
Two years and 10 months, and in that
time she accounted for more than 100,-
600 rats.
Over as Pup.
Norah, who is 3 years old, went to
France with a British soldier when she
was a psppy 8 weeks old. Before she
was . weeks old she had killed her first
rat, and she has been killing them
days record that she put up in that
tlme was 62S rodents accounted for.
Ihat was near st. Omer in August last.
Her naturally proud owner, Private
Thomas Radford, Of the Canadian vet
Urinary corps, kept a record of her
performances, rat by rat, up to last
August, at which time Norah's total
was the astonishing one Of 74,119. Since
then her record has been kept largely
| by estimate.
There are many other useful canine
rat catchers on the western front, but
there isn't-so far as known-a single
one with a record that even approaches
Norah's; and probably there is no other
dog that is recognized promptly and
with delight by so many distinguished
officers on leave from France, as we'll
as no end of other British and allied
soldiers of less exalted rank.
To begin Norah's history at the be-
ginning, she was born in the kennels Of
Major Richardson, famous breeder Of
police and sentry" dogs, at Harrow,
and was bought by her first soldier
owner and taken by him to France just
Is Well Trained.
"As soon as I saw her I knew that
she would make a fine ~ratter," Rad
ford says. I've had quite a lot of ex-
perience with dogs, especially with
terriers and bulls, and 'huskies,' too,
in western Canada and in the United
States. So l set out to train Norah,
and she made good right from the
start. First of all, l taught her to
shake a bunch Of rags. Then l gave
her some lessons with a live rat with
a string tied to one of it's hind legs.
ferrets that l got her acquainted with
~ferets, and finally made her let one
OF them bite her.
THAT was to get the dog accus-
toned to working with strange fer
rets and to keep her from going for
them instead of the rats. We send the
ferrets into the rat holes, and they go
for the rats, which pour up to the
surface, when the dogs kill them.
Everybody knows that cornered rats
will fight" the soldier went on. and
" often seen Norah with half n dozen
or EN- hanging TO her head. The day
at st. Omer, when she accounted for
623 of them, she was working from
noon until Z o'clock at night, and for
five days after she could scarcely open
her mouth n l had to feed her on
milk and eggs. Most of her work was
done at the base camps, where, as a
member of the c. V. c., l was most
of the time-though I did stretcher
bearing for a while, toe.
Here, you see" added Radford,
opening an official document SIS a
letter testifying to the valuable work
done by my dog that was written by
Lieut.. Col. John Stewart, Of Halifax,
the surgeon who operated on King
Edward, and who is now head Of the
Dalhousie hospital, of h Canadian
overseas forces. 1t was another mem
Der of the staff of the same hospital,
DIR. Mckay, who analysed a lot of rats
killed by Norah, and frequently found
them carrying the germs of danger
diseases.
Several Of Norah's pups have done
good work, too. She had seven in her
first litter n six in her second. One
OF her pups killed his first rat when
he was only Z weeks old"
The strong probability is that
Norah's career on the western front
is at an end, for her owner may be
discharged from the army. In that
Ease he means to return to his little
homestead in Alberta.
Am l going to take Norah back to
Canada with me?" said Private Rad
ford. Sure thing! 1t would take a lot
to make me part with Norah. She's
n of the greatest little dogs in the
world"