Evening star., 1942-08-22

That's a lot ~
4'sssssss - dogs as any one
Henry MeIemor. who has ever
had as many As four around the
house at one time will agree. But
not nearly so many as Germany
had in active duty when the war
started. The Nazis had no fewer
than 100000 In service and Russia
is estimated to have more than
100, 900 at work today. England.
afraid of the food shortage, put
away thousands of its best dogs
during the early days of the Wak
but only recently issued a call for
$4,000 tail-waggers. "A
This business of dogs In war ts
serious one. Already CANNES are
patrolling many Of our major de-
fense Notifications. With his SUI
persense Of smell and hearing-a
good six times as sensitive as that
of mana dog working with
sentry can do the work of four
men. But his duties do not end
with the detection of msrauders.
The English have found him Inc
valuable for rescue work. Turn
him loose in a bombed building and
he won't stop searching until the
last person is uncovered. The Rus
slams sing his praise as worker
Of mercy. Supplied with first-aM
equipment he will fearlessly prowl
the battlefield and, happening upon
the gravely wounded, rouse them
from unconsciousness and enable
them to treat themselves until med
ical aid arrives. The dog wifi
carry messages where awkward nah
could not travel without being shot,
rand he will take a roll of wire on
his back and string communications
! lines,
Boy, 8, Gives Dog.
! All he asks is to be given a chance
by his masters to be placed in the
hands of trainer who, through
praise and kindliness, will teach
him to serve his country.
The masters OF the country are
giving their dogs, too. Dogs for
defense cherish the letter from
Paul John Miller. age 8, of Buffalo.
Hearing of the call for dogs, Paul
scrawled off a note addressed
simply to Uncle Sam, Washington,
D. c.. offering the services of his
Muggins. 1t was answered by 1t
Col. John V. Dillon of the ONCE
OF Provost Marshal General, and
Paul was advised to get In touch
with Dogs for Defense. He wrote
this letter to its head, Harry I.
| Caesar:
Dear Mr.. Caesar: Please take
Muggins for army work. My brother
Is 13 years old and Is joining the
flying cadets. am years old and
too young to do that, but you may
have my dog. I love him very much,
but mother says we must ali help to
win this war. a
My dog weighs a. pounds, Is
golden fawn color, very smart. He
is 98 per cent boxer. His mother
was English bull, but he looks like
a German boxer. He is so beauti-
full. Daddy gave him to me for
Christmas. He is so strong I know
the soldiers will love him, Please
answer soon. / will have Muggins
ready. John Paul Miller
Not All Dogs Eligible. :
From Tampa, Fla, came this let
ter:
Unable to join the army myself
because I am an old man, so want to
do what I consider the next best
thing-volunteer my best friend,
Karl, black and tan Doberman
plnscher I saw in the paper where
| the Army is using dogs in New York
to guard against sabotage and de-
cided right then my Karl would 90.
lam inclosing his pedigree, also
his health certificate"
Both Karl and Muggins are in the
Army now.
Not all dogs are eligible for the
Army work. At present, only dogs
between the ages of and 5, who are
pure bred or cross bred, and stand
Is inches or more at the shoulder,
are being accepted. This means
the medium sized working dog
German and Belgian shepherds,
Dobermans. boxers. Dalmatians. re-
trelvers, elkhounds, Kerry blues,
A1redales and, yes, French poodles.
The poodle clowns at his work, but
he works.
Mongrels aren't. acceptable be.
cause of this reason: Each breed
OF dog has its own characteristics
and Is trained accordingly. A mon
grel would run trainer crazy. One
minute he would show elkhound
characteristics. say, and the next
Airedale. Tomorrow he might elect
to let the bulldog blood in him hold
sway.
Three dog-training centers have
been established, one in California,
one in Virginia, one in the Middle
West. The Government has asked
for trainers and will commission
them.
distributed by McNsusht Syndicate, Incl