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The Ambulance Dog at Work 



AMBULANCE DOGS 



Not until the history of the present European war comes to be written will it be 

 known just how great have been the services of the dog for ambulance work. Shortly 

 after the outbreak of this, the world's greatest war, an Association in Germany, 

 formed about the year 1893, known as the Ambulance Dogs' Association, greatly 

 increased its activities. 



It has been found by experience that the best breeds for ambulance work are 

 collies, retrievers, bloodhounds, Airedale terriers, German shepherd dogs and Dober- 

 mann Pinschers. It is absolutely essential that ambulance dogs should be extremely 

 wiry and hardy, and capable of great hardship and endurance, otherwise they are of 

 little use. 



The manner in which ambulance, dogs are employed is to help the Red Cross men 

 and doctors to search for wounded within a given area on the battlefield. A dog's 

 sense of scent and acute hearing enable him frequently to detect the sound of the 

 breathing of a wounded man when inaudible to the human ear. Moreover, a puff of 

 wind often suffices to carry to the dog's nose the scent of a man lying possibly uncon- 

 scious in some concealed place. 



Fields of battle nowadays are widely extended, and soldiers have to take advantage 

 of every possible bit of natural cover. The instinct of the wounded is to use their last 

 strength in seeking protection from artillery fire, cavalry charges, the wheels of guns, 

 and the other horrors to which they are exposed. They crawl away into the most 

 hidden, safest places. The collection of the wounded is usually at night. This accounts 

 for the large numbers that after each battle are reported as "missing." In some 

 instances the missing have been more than half as many as the known total of killed 

 and wounded. 



They are differently equipped in the armies of different countries. The Germans 

 provide their ambulance clogs with a saddle with pockets in which are bandages and 

 dressings, while around the neck is a wooden flask of stimulant. The Italians and 

 French put the flask in a pocket of the saddle. British experts consider bandages and 

 stimulant unnecessary, as every man has to carry his own first-aid dressing, and the 

 extra weight hinders the dog's action. In the English army the dogs wear a very 

 light saddle with the Geneva cross on each side, and a loud bell hangs from a leather 

 collar. The Russians provide their ambulance dogs with small lanterns and attach 

 the bells elsewhere on the collar. 



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