Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-11-06
DOG TRAINING
CENTER SET UP
in THISSTATE
ARMY TO PREPARE ANIMALS FOL
WAR DUTY AT RIMIM
Gee CAMP

Army officers from Fort William
Henry Harrison announced that the
army will establish a reception and
training center to prepare dogs for
war duties at the former CCC camp at
Rimini.
The announcement was made at q
meeting of army officers with the
Helena chamber Of commerce. The
post headquarters at Fort Harrison
will organize and direct operations at
the dog camp. Neither the size of the
camp nor the number of dogs which
will be trained were disclosed although
it was said that work to prepare the
camp is expected to begin Immediately.
Purpose of the camp is to establish
reception and training center in a
northern climate to receive process
and train dogs for military duties and
train enlisted men in dog administra-
ton and as dog handlers.
The Rimini CCC camp has been re-
leased to the corps Of engineers and all
| facilities made available to the
quartermaster corps. The department
of agriculture is being requested to
authorize the use of 16O acres for the
camp site.
signed to the camp include Major
E. j. Purified. as adjutant and quarter
master; Capt. Lawrence c. Phipps, in
charge of the canine section, and
Lieut.. w. c. Nelson, in charge of the
quartermaster detachment and miscel-
| laneous section.
Other dog camps are at San Mateo,
Calf, Fort Robinson, Neb.. Front
Royal, Va, and one which has had
wide publicity is at Philadelphia.
where the coast guard has taken over
the Widener estate for training sentry
dogs.
Captain Phipps announced at the
meeting that James ]. F1aherty of
Great Falls has been appointed Mon
tana director of the Dogs for Defense
organization. Dogs for army service are
obtained through the volunteer SER
vices of the Dogs for Defense, a
civilian agency.
He said anyone who has dog to
loan the army for the duration should
write to Flaherty at Great Falls or to
the Dogs for Defense headquarters at
New York city, % East Goth street.
Dogs should be over 16 inches in
height at the shoulders, he explained.
According to Captain Phipps, who
owns his own pack of fox hounds and
has served in civilian life as master
of hounds. when it was decided to open
another camp for dog training, the
CCC camp at Rimini seemed ideal, as
barracks to house the men were al
ready built, and the kennels could be
ideally located in the surrounding
forest, and there was no need for the
government to go through the red
tape Of acquiring property.
Captain Phipps explained that one
Of the normal functions of the quar-
termaSter remount service Is the pro-
curing and processing of horses. mules
and other animals, hence it Is quite
natural that they be called upon to
process dogs, too.
After the dogs have been hardened
with an appropriate course of train
ing and have learned a uniform set of
troops for specific tasks.
Some of the dogs" said Captain
Phipps, "are used for sentry aids. They
have the ears and sense of smell that
helps warn men on sentry duty of
approaching enemies. There are many
sounds inaudible to human ears that
dog can easily catch. Witness the So
called silent whistles" some dog
owners use to call their pets. To our
ears they give out no sound at all.
Some dogs can be used as attack
dogs During World war / all armies
apparently used some dogs as mes
sengers, or to bring up food or amuni-
ton to advanced positions Dogs of
the retriever type can be used as Red
Cross dogs to search out the wounded,
bringing back a mans cap or leading
a searching party to him."