Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-05-15
Dogs,


ately took Off piece of my trowsers and the
flesh. Evidently he mistook me for another
boy My early training had taught me that no
animal would ever hurt good boy who did not
tease him, therefore | argued that some very
bad boy had been imposing on him. As a child, |
remember to have reasoned IN this way; and
though | was hurt badly, pleaded so to save
the dog from being shot by his master, that his |
life was saved. Later, having studied some
what the disposition of this breed of dog |
am somewhat chary of them. We rarely see, in |
the United States, very pure specimens of the |
Newfoundland; in fact, they are difficult to pro-
cure at home The real dog is thinner and |
sparer, with a smaller head The perfect web |
of the foot is peculiar to him. Generally, we |
find him in the United States crossed with the |
ST. Bernard, which gives him size and somewhat |
improves his temper. The true st. Bernard, |
though admirable for his purpose of hunting |
for travellers in the snow, is not a cheerful |
dog, but rather inclined to moroseness. He |
will not bite you readily, but once in fury he |
is about as terrible a beast as panther. The |
Newfoundland dog, as we have him here, is es- |
sentially modified; but every now and then, |
true to the original traits of his haf-wild stock,
the strain of the EsquimauX breed comes out, |
and he may bite YOU when you least have rea- |
son TO expect it, BY no means DESTROYS of Civ |
ing this dog bad name, must declare it to be |
the result of my experience that he is more |
prone to hydrophobia than others of his species,
and that lately some of the most positive cases |
of this fearful malady can be traced to bites in
tcted by this breed of dog. IL is quite cruel to
immune a Newfoundland dog within city;
chances of sickness are doubled when he has
not the full range of piece of water.
My second dog was real Skye terrier. He
possessed all the intrinsic beauties of his race,
and cannot better express his comeliness than
by saying you could not tell his tail from his
head, save when he was lying down and pleased,
when one end of him would wag and the other
not. His name was Oliver Twist. From a pc
culiar defect of his we had to drop the Oliver
and call him Twist. Before his distemper he
was both Oliver and Twist, but when well over
his distemper he was stone deaf, and in order
| that he might the better see the motion of our
| lips we called him Twist. He would always
come when anybody would stamp for him. and
| he was clever enough to understand that each
| one of us in family of three had a peculiar
| knock for him. His sense of smell was more
delicate than it is possible to imagine, this with
| his eyesght fully making up for his lost sense.
| His deafness caused certain very marked
| changes in his nature. He was the most in
| quisitive dog in the world and always "wanted
to know, you know" To every one else but
| ourselves he seemed to be in possession of all
| his faculties. He was terribly restless and
though he lived in my room, think never
| found him asleep. The least movement on my
| part, and he was by my side, wide-awake He
| certainly understood what meant when spoke
to him, by the motion of my lips, and would
always be looking at you, with his head cooked
on one side, full in the face. His bark was
feeble, and wanting in tone, and, if | can ex-
| plain it better, resembling in sound that nasal
twang deaf people have. There are certainly
various notes given out by dogs-modulations
of the bark-a peculiar gamut expressive of joy
or anger. Twists bark was dreadfully mo-
| nOtonouS.
With human beings, he was the most trust
full and sociable dog ever knew; all mankind
were his friends; in fact, his greatest fault was
| that he picked up too many acquaintances
Going into the street with him, did any one
look at him very attentvely, he would deliber-
| atty walk up to them, peer into their face, as
| much as TO say. "See here; | know you are
| looking at me, and consequently must have
| something TO say to me- Speak, and I'll try to
| understand you, though | am deaf dog" To
/ other animals of his kind, | regret to saw he
was the most insuferable cross-grained creature
| | ever met with Indifferent as to size the least
| approach to familiarity would make him bristIe
| with anger and show his teeth. Evidently he
| could not understand what other dogs meant,
| and took every advance on their part as an n-
| suit. Probably half his life was taken up in
fighting, and another quarter in getting cured
| OF his wounds. In fact, he died in the prime of
| life, from having overmatched himself with
| rather intrusive butcher dog three times his
| size. Poor old Twist, you were the best inside
of the house Watchdog, despite your deafness,
ever had.
l became intimately acquainted, too, with the
soldiers dog, and have some very pleasant
"reminiscences of him He was as brave as
| non, ouI am dlTalu, from Ddu company, was
the biggest thief on record He had been court
martaled-drum-he headed times innumerable.
Somehow or other, while his masters were get
| ting leaner and more like greyhounds every
day, he was always seal fat. Originally a suit
| lers dog, he had taken service in cavalry COM
pany and generally led the first files. | have
see him charge with the column, always fully
thirty yards in advance. He acquired perfect
| knowledge of the trumpet calls, and with his
| quick sharp bark would ALWAYS respond TO it,
| When first / Va him unbpr fra IN tba
| sion Of Il shell being sent unpleasanty near us,
| which burrowed itself into the ground. The
dog, seeing the dirt fly, made for the hole,
| when the shell exploded, rolled him over Stung
| him severely with the clods of earth which hit
| him, but, otherwise unhurt, he made a mastery
| retreat, yelping all he could, with his tail be-
| tween his legs. However, in time he got used
to fire, though after his first experience he never
went looking up shells. Gun-ire was nothing to
| him. | have seen him between the wheels of a
howitzer which was firing as fast as the gun.
ners could load, apparently enjoying the din,
aud cooy taking his place again after each re-
coil. He had no master, but belonged to every.
body, and was well known to every soldier and
| officer IN regiment of seven hundred men. II
he had particular affection it was for the
| bugler, a handsome lrshman, whom the men
used to say, from his always keeping in such
good condition, got Sub (short for substitute) to
| steal for him.
His end behtted that of soldiers though not
shot by ball or pierced by a sword, he died on
the field, run over by heavy gun carriage
Oliver Wendell Holmes says Live dogs never
are run over" which, believe, is perfectly true
Subs fate was, however, exceptional. The enc.
my was pressing us rather hard, and it was
sduUe qui peut, and Sun was leading the retreat
The mud was fetock deep, and as stiff as glue.
Two artillery caissons gottblocked, land plung-
ing mule must have trodden on the dog Tor
the next minute heavy gun, with eight tear
ing horses, ran over him. Ii might have been
very foolish in Michael Ryan, our trumpeter, to
ride 10 the rear, by permission of his command
ing officer, to look after the dog, the enemy's
skirmishers then blazing away, within short
range, at the ford, but SO he did, and picking up
poor Sub in his arms, galloped off with him
All that day Michael was bothering the surgeon
to "prescrbthe for the poor baste." But Sub
died next day, and we buried him in Virginia.
! met Michael the other day. "Sr, said he
"therc niver was SIGH dog, and there isn't q
day that don't bemoan his mimeory"
i "But, Michael, did he nOt-nOw that it's all
oyef--did he never get chicken for you, o" a
piece of meat that ought by rights have gone h
the officers messW
'WHllLAand won't desaye you. He was the
inteIlfgintrst dog | ever clapped Dyes on, and
how could you expect poor dumb haste to be
maxim observation-disclosures loike betwane an Off.
GERS and abugleps poultryP
|