Seventy-five years ago.

Out of the magazine the Dutch dogsport, 24-4-1926.
it is about a Laeken female called Mien (a very Dutch name)

Dear mister of the redaction.

According to several notes about messagedogs, I would like to tell you something about my experiences
with Mien, my qualified policedog. About 13 years ago I was in duty at the police in Amsterdam
at the department Police and sleuth dogs, office Overtoom. My certificated policedog Wilhelmina,
callname "Mien" well known everywhere, was a Laeken Sheepdog, out of the old family of the Belgian Shepherds:
I name as a son and heir "Haantje", "Stiep van Paris" and so on. Well kown dogs from old times to old dogexperts,
according to Belgian shepherds. This "Mien" I taught her how to track and she could find a track 24 ours old easily.
Because we very often patrolled in the surroundings of the soccer stadion and in the surrounded fields and gardens,
for fun I taught her the following: I wrote a note on a piece of cardboard and I gave it to her in her rough mouth
and gave the command "backwords!" Then she ran back to town.
When she met a uniformed policeman, she sat down before him and handed over the message
and waited for an answer. The uniform was her sign of recognition, to which she gave the written message.
If it was a stranger or not, she didn't care. And she did what she had to do.
In the stadion, it was in the ancient times that Gobel was still in the goal, there where thausends of people,
we gave a little performance with a few policedogpeople just before the soccer game started.
I sended Mien with a message. She went across the field and passed serveral uniformed people:
fire men, soldiers, and so on. But she went straight to the police uniform and under a big ovation she
handed over the message.
Truly the sight of a dog will help to make her a good messagedog

Your humble servant
T. Jaape

Thank you Ton v.d. Walle for sharing this wonderful story with us