Dogs -- War use -- History -- 20th century; World War, 1914-1918
Through a fellow member of the Police Dog Club of America, who had been
commissioned by the U. S. Government as official trainer, I had Wolf
enlisted for war service and he was sent to Athens, Georgia, to complete
his training. After the War Department concluded to debar war dog
service, he was turned over to the French War Department, and in
December, 1917, was sent to France. In June, 1918, I received a picture
of Wolf, showing him in camp in company with two French soldiers,
apparently enjoying the novel experience of fighting with the enemies of
his native land.
During my stay in France following the armistice, I spent many days and
dollars in my efforts to discover the whereabouts of my old friend Wolf,
but all without avail. Great difficulties were encountered in locating
missing men, and naturally my task to find a dog was much greater. On my
return to France I shall continue my efforts and still hope to meet with
success. When I find him—and I pray that I may—Wolf shall spend his
declining days in the enjoyment of everything a dog likes best, and when
his days are ended, he shall have bestowed upon him a decent burial and
the lasting memories of his master.
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[Illustration: Huskie, Alaskan Dog.]
THE “HUSKIE”
During the summer of 1918 I spent two months in Alaska, and while there
became familiar with the characteristics of the Alaskan Eskimo dog.
Travel during the long sunless winter season would be next to impossible
were it not for these tireless sled dogs. Summer is their vacation
period and they wander through the villages, camps and mountains, much
as the ordinary farm or country dog, spending the long hours of constant
sunshine playing and sleeping. From the moment of the first fall of
snow, play and sleep, become—if a dog ever thinks—but a thing of memory,
as work is then the order of the day and dogs instead of horses
transport burdens of every description. To the hustling Alaskan, a team
of sled dogs is the most important asset in his possession.
With the approach of winter, the armies of the Allies were confronted
with a very serious problem, namely, how to supply the troops in the
mountain camps and trenches with sufficient food supply. Motors and
horses were alike powerless to overcome these conditions. Falling snows
and howling blizzards made the work of provisioning these soldiers an
impossibility. Hundreds of dogs were sent from Alaska and Labrador, and
these hitched to sleds loaded with food and munitions made their way
through the mountain passes and over pinnacles, relieving the threatened
destruction of thousands by starvation.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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