A WIN FOR TESS

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIII, Issue 254, 23 September 1933, Page 2

A WIN FOR TESS

FINDING A LOST MAN. POLICE DOG’S INTELLIGENCE. The. addition of two Alsatian dogs to the police force of New South AA 7 ales was recently announced. Early on the morning of AA’ednesday, August 23, one of them, Tess, secured a notable win. I Her job was to track not -a criminal, 1 but a rabbit-shooter lost and benighted in French’s Forest. C. AV. Harris, aged 25, went from I Manly, Sydney, into French’s Forest, 1 carrying a gun and cartridges to shoot 1 rabbits. He had no matches. That | night he gathered leaves and dry twigs in a cave, and fired bullets into them, without igniting the leaves and twigs. He then extracted bullets and powder from several cartridges, put a cartridge case in the barrel, filled some powder in on top of it, put some more powder i in the leaves, and fired at them again, j Thus he got a fire, warmed himself at it, and went to sleep in the cave. At 2 a.m. a police party, with Tess, left Manly and entered French’s Forest. Tess was allowed to smell a coat belonging to Mr Harris, and was brought to the spot at which he left his car. She took up the trail. It was a wandering trail, and she was sometimes baffled for a moment where he had recrossed his tracks, but she could distinguish the more recent trail and she followed it. For all its complexities, she was able to travel through the forest rather too fast for the police, who sustained falls and bruises. At 4 a.m. she reached the cave, and momentarily disappeared. The police waited some little distance away. Tnside the cave Mr Harris was asleep by the smouldering fire, which was not visible to the police. Mr Harris said that the dog licked bis face and butted him with her bead till ho stood up. Then, placing herself against his legs, she guided him to where two of the police were waiting. Whenever he walked in the wrong direction the dog pushed against his legs until he was on the right track. Having delivered the goods, she did not lose concern in him, but took a friendly interest in him all the way back to the main road. AVhatever might have been her attitude to a tracked fugitive, she seemed to know that this time her protege was of good repute and something to be proud of. The spot where Mr Harris was found was about two miles from the edge of the forest, but the police search party had covered a much greater distance. The Commissioner of Police (Mr Childs) said he was . pleased that the police dog had performed so well in the first difficult task of real police work she had been given. He said that it proved the value of the police dogs in tracking lost people and possibly saving lives. The dogs have yet to have the experience of tracking down criminals.