Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1873-04-20
A NEW DOG STORY.

A True Story OF n SagaciOus DOE-A
Family of Children Attack ed by a
Crazy Woman and Defended by q
Faithful Dog.
All read stories of ssgacious dogs with
interest. Here is new one, ard it has the
additional merit of being strictly true. A
certain lawyer in San Francisco has a wife,
a nurse-girl, whole house full of small
children, and q large Newfoundland dog as
a playmate for the little ones. 1t was not
known until lately that The dog had any
other merits than doggish attachment to
the family, kind, playful disposition and
good appe lite. A startling exigency arose
and he became the defender of that family.
The lawyer has a near neighbor whose
wife is afflicted with mild type of insani-
~. The unfortunate woman was suppos-
ed to be perfectly harmless, and her hus-
band kept her with hin. She was an OBJ
ject of mournful interest in the neighbor-
hood and her vsgsries sometimes amuse
the children. Nobody ever thought of her
becoming dangerous. Que day when the
lawyer was at bis Office and his wife was
out shopping, and the children, left in
charge Of the nurse girl, were romping with
the dog, there was violent knocking at the
door which startled the whole house. The
nurse-giH went to the door, and the chill
dren crowded around her, and the dog was
there too, with an expression of interest on
his countenance.
When the door was opened the crazy
woman forced her way into the hall, look
iPg very much excited. She talked loud
and looked wild, and was evidently Iaving
mad, The dog knew her, and appearing
also to know that there was something
wrong on foot, he crowded in between the
affrigh;ed children and the visitor and COM
menced barking. The nurse girl not being
alarmed, told him 10 ''get out" The ma
MAC woman it seems took the remark as
addressed to her, seized the girl by the
hair, and dragged her down, and finally
clutcht d her throat and commenced strang-
ling her. The girl was powerless in the
hands of the maniac, and the children ran
screaming. The dog not liking the course
matters had taken, spraDg at the mad wo-
man with open jaws and fastened upon her.
She loosened her hold of the PROSTATE girl,
and made her way to the door in charge Of
the dog. She stepped outside, and the ami
NAL LEI her 60. The nurse-girl then bOlted
the door, and the now dOubly enrapged
woman began to throw stones and break
the windows, and finally got an axe and
commenced hewing down the door. The
house was in the suburbs and no police
man was near. The girl locked the terrified
children in back room, and leaving the
dog TO guard the house, went out by the
back door and fastened to the lawyers
Office.
The mad woman, hearing the children
shrieking in the back part of the house,
and the barking Of the dog in the same di-
rection, left the front door and went TO the
rear of the house. She saw the chilcren's
faces huddled together in the window, and
made a fresh attack. She broke the win
dow all to pieces and tried to get in by it,
but the opening was q little too high and
she had no ladder. The terror of the chill
dren during this scene can probably be inn
sgined. They heard their friend, the dog,
al the door outside, and there he faithfully
stayed, protesting against the riotous pro-
ceeding with his deep-toned voice. Pres,
emily the baffled maniac made her way
through the back door with her axe, and
stood face to face with the foe that had pre-
viously forbidden her the house. He Law
crouching at the children's door, and there
the lawyer found him when he came, with
a sufficient force TO raise the siege.