The battles of World War I were horrific, and being on the frontline in the trenches was not the kind of place that you would want to be. Communications were still very basic, but what do you think was used in order to get messages to the front?
You would have initially thought that carrier pigeons would have been the main choice, but that was not the case, as it was deemed that there was too much risk involved in them being shot down or simply not being trained well enough. Instead, the dog was used in most instances as they were regarded as being far more reliable. A message would be added to a canister that would then be tied around the neck of the dog before it was set off on its merry way to the frontline through the network of trenches. Once it arrived, the canister was opened, and any reply was then inserted back into the canister before the dog was sent back to safety.
But that was not all that they were used for in the war, as they were seen as being extremely important in a number of ways. For example, the dog was also used to lay down a number of telegraph wires. They were viewed as being easier to replace than a soldier who would be in absolute danger as soon as they stuck their head above the trench for even a second. It is unknown how many dogs effectively gave up their lives for the battle.