Working Dogs - Dogs of War
The first working dogs, as shown in prehistoric cave paintings hunted alongside man for wild oxen, reindeer, stags and in northern areas seals and seabirds. Gradually, as the nomadic tribes settled down and began to rear stock and cultivate crops, dogs were employed to guard and herd the animals man had now domesticated. Hunting still continued, throughout the centuries, and hounds were still needed. Then, with the invention of firearms, gundogs were developed with different skills - to flush out the game and retrieve the kill, while (mostly in the British Isles) terriers were specially bread to deal with rats, foxes and other vermin.
The earliest British dogs seem to have been of one all-purpose shape and size, until the Celts arrived around 400BC. They were said to have been fond of dogs and skilled in breeding and training them. Dog lovers or not, the Celts did not hesitate to use their large fierce mastiffs as dogs of war, and the Gauls imported their dogs to use in the fight against Julius Caesar’s invading armies.
Indeed, Caesar’s reasons for invading Britain were quoted as, �for gold, horses, hounds and skins� . Later Romans continued this tradition. The historian Pliny the Younger recorded the platoons of dogs fought in the front of every battle; they were so brave that they retreated unless ordered to do so. The Romans also used British to guard their walls and fortifications and to carry messages. (They often forced the dog to swallow the message. On arriving safely destination, the dog was killed and cut open to retrieve communication!) A popular saying in Rome was that the best about the British was their dogs. These were imported into Ro large numbers to take part in the spectacles held in the arena of the Colosseum where they were set against wild animals, as well as men and women. Seven Scottish dogs that appeared in the games at the Circus Maximus were said to be of such ferocity that they could be transported in cages like lions and tigers and the populace marvelled when they first set eyes on them.
Dogs continued to do war work well into this century, though in less violent ways. In the World War I they were trained to carry messages in metal canisters attached to their collars. Dogs could negotiate shell craters and other obstacles faster and much more easily than soldiers, and being lower to the ground were less likely to be spotted by the enemy. Many were killed in the execution of their duties. Trained ambulance dogs saved many lives by seeking out wounded men often in the dead of night and in pitch darkness. Each log carried on his back a small pack clearly marked with a Red Cross and containing a small bottle of brandy, bandages and other medicaments. If the wounded soldier was fit enough to move, the dog would guide him back to camp; if not the clever animal would go and bring help.
Dogs were also busy in World War II on active service and on the home front. There were the ‘para dogs’ dropped by parachute behind German or Italian lines, where they worked as patrol dogs for soldiers who had infiltrated enemy territory. Others crossed the Channel after D-Day to work as mine sniffers (a job dogs still do). Many ofthese brave dogs won the Dickin Medal ‘For Gallantry’ as did some of those who saved lives by finding people buried in bombed buildings.
The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals used to send their officers to look for pets injured or made homeless by the bombing, and one of them was always accompanied by his Wire Fox Terrier. One day the little bitch, Beauty, wandered off on her own and began digging in the rubble of a ruined building. Her owner soon became aware that she had discovered a cat buried alive under the debris. Realising that dogs could fulfil a vital function in saving human lives, the authorities set up a training unit and a skilled team was soon performing sterling work in the aftermath of the air raids. Two German Shepherds, from this team, Jet and Irma, marched proudly in the victory parade through the streets of London in 1946 and the immense cheer that greeted their appearance showed that the people had not forgotten their gallant efforts. Since then, dogs have been trained to search for earthquake and accident victims in all kinds of conditions.
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