Dogs as Draft Animals in Europe, 1909
From Dogs As Draft Animals By Consul H. Albert Johnson, of Liege, Belgium, 1909.
From: 1906 C.E. To: 1909 C.E.
Location: Liege, Belgium
Note: This article has been excerpted from a larger work in the public domain and shared here due to its historical value. It may contain outdated ideas and language that do not reflect TOTA’s opinions and beliefs.
From Dogs As Draft Animals By Consul H. Albert Johnson, of Liege, Belgium, 1909.
It is well known that in Belgium and Holland the practice of employing dogs as draft animals is extensive and of long standing.
Dogs are almost universally used by such tradespeople as bakers, small coal dealers, vegetable and fruit venders, etc., in supplying the wants of their various customers. These animals are also used, to a more limited extent, by many other classes of tradespeople and industrial concerns; in some places portable platforms used to repair the trolley lines of street railways are drawn by dogs.
The Government has humanely enacted laws, which are strictly enforced, that tend in a large measure to prevent abuses in the use of dogs for draft purposes, and to enforce kind and considerate treatment. The following is a translation of the laws enforced in this Province under royal decree of August 9, 1906, controlling the use of dogs as draft animals:
Every dog used as a draft animal must be so harnessed to the vehicle he is drawing, that whenever the vehicle is not in motion, the animal can lie down with ease and place his head upon the ground without the weight of the vehicle bearing on his body.
2. Whenever a cart drawn by dogs stops on the public highway at a time; when it is raining or snowing, the driver is obliged to cover the dogs with a straw mat, or some other suitable covering; and at all times during excessively cold weather, to keep the animal covered with a blanket; and during rainy weather, to provide him with an oilskin covering.
3. All dogs used as draft animals must measure at least 50 centimeters (about 20 inches) in height at the shoulder, except in the case of dogs harnessed in shafts.
4. It is forbidden (a) To harness up dogs that by reason of weakness, disease, or injury are rendered unfit for use as draft animals, or bitches with young, nursing their young, or in heat; (b) to allow persons to ride in vehicles drawn by dogs; (c) to harness one or more dogs together with any other kind of animal; (d) any intoxicated person to drive a cart drawn by dogs; (e) to drive vehicles drawn by dogs, excepting wheelbarrows, outside of the road limits; (f) to overload a dog-drawn vehicle; a vehicle is deemed excessively loaded when it is seen that unusual exertion on the part of the animal is required to draw it; (g) to drag the dog by the collar, or to pull on the collar to stop the animal; (h) to allow a child under 14 years of age to drive a dog-drawn vehicle.
5. When a dog is harnessed under the body of a cart, as is often done when the vehicle is pushed by hand, the cart must be high enough to avoid coming in contact with the animal's back.
6. When dogs are harnessed in shafts, the following conditions must be complied with: (a) The dog must measure 55 centimeters (21.7 inches) in height at the shoulders; (b) the weight of the vehicle must be balanced so that it will not bear on the animal; (c) the vehicle must be provided with a support acting automatically that permits the animal to lie on the ground without bearing the weight of the vehicle.
7. Every cart must be provided with a water vessel to permit the animal to drink whenever necessary, and a muzzle similar to the model adopted by the Government.
8. All violations of the foregoing regulations will be punished by imprisonment from one to eight days, and by a fine of from 5 to 200 francs (franc=$0.193); owing to attenuating circumstances, the minimum of 5 francs, can, at the judge's discretion, be reduced to not less than 1 franc. In the case of an infraction of subdivisions "a," "c," or "f" of article 4, the proper officer can order the animal to be unharnessed on the spot.
9. Officers of the local police, the national gendarmes, and public road officials are charged with the execution of the foregoing regulations.
The number of dogs used as draft animals in this Province is, at present (March, 1909), said to be about 5,600.
United States. Bureau of Foreign and Domestic Commerce, H. Albert Johnson, and Henry W. Diederich. Police And Work Dogs In Europe. Washington: Govt. Print. Office, 1909.
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