Sergeant Mégnin took Helda, and his assistant took Za, 150 meters down the trench line. Within ten minutes, both dogs had indicated the location of the outpost.
Helda reportedly became one of the most famous sentry dogs in the French army when she was able to track down and identify a French soldier who had turned traitor. The man, Private Vachet, was a kennel assistant at the Vosges and Alsace war dog kennel and would sneak out at night to give information to the German army. Helda, who slept next to kennel man Private Herbelin, started to growl one night when Helda heard Vachet try to quiet the dogs (other dogs were growling as well). Herbelin reported this to his commanding officer, and, after a few nights of watching, they tried to follow Vachet when he slipped out of the camp. Unfortunately, they could not follow him in the dark.
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The next time Vachet left the camp, Helda and another dog, El Tango, were used to follow him in order to verify his treasonous behavior. When Vachet was confronted, he denied his activities. Helda was turned loose and she attacked Vachet, who then quickly confessed to what he had been doing. What is remarkable is that all of the dogs knew and trusted Vachet, so we can only wonder how they knew he was a traitor.
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