Dogs as Policemen.

Auckland Star, Volume XXXIX, Issue 66, 17 March 1908, Page 2

Dogs as Policemen.

Quite an unusual sight was witnessed jon (ith January last on the racecourse 'of Vincennes, Paris, instead of steeple- j j chasers or trotting-horses, with their : multi-coloured jockeys, the enclosure was ' i takeu up by a curious collection of police- • 1 dogs and their masters or trainers. The "Club Erancais dv Chicn de Defense, dc Garde, ct de Police,"' an entirely private association of amateurs, had obtained - j permission to use the racecourse for a ' series of experiments, to which the police ! authorities were invited. About fifty ', j persons in all, including three fashion- '-. ! able ladies, had come to witness the ! trials, the most interesting of which were i the man-hunt and arrest of supposed i burglars. Two men were dressed up as Apaches. They were thoroughly padded j from head to foot with mattress-like . I coverings, and well did they need them, for the dogs took their business in earnest. Each man also wore an iron mask and a steel helmet, as well as iron gloves. A " . dog was first told to escort one of his " I prisoners to a giveu place. He inarched close at his side, and woe to the man if he made the slightest attempt to escape, j ) The dog would make a fierce bound at him and throw him down in an instant, - i catching, us a rule, the mattress padding | where it was thickets, and burying his '■ I teeth viciously in the man's supposed \\ j tiesh. An armed attack was then repre-1 i sented. A man, Tepresenting a burglar, ! crouched with his back against a wall,! 1 , stood concealed, armed with a club and | , a revolver. The trainer came along with j ' his dog, and was not supposed to see the ! man in concealment. Tha. imaginary ] i burglar suddenly pounces out on him, | fires a shot, and catches the man by the | throat. The police-dog, however, hardly : j gives him time. In an instant he seizes i the man and bowls him over, attacking' him at the same time with his teeth. ' I The man is allowed to use his club as f | best he can on the dog's back, but the j animal easily has the better of him, and ■ the blows only stimulate his vigour.