Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1873-08-28
Anecdotes Of Dogs.

A writer in the London Quarterly Reoiesc
adduces many pretty instances of affection,
sagacity and cunning in dogss A dog de
serted by his master will take some cast
off garment and lie on it for DAYS; the
sight of the cleaning of guns preparatory
to the 18th of August fills him with rap
turous anticipatiOns Of sport; the taking
up hat or stick will make him leap for
joy. AS it is probable he has dreams in
which are reproduced the impressions
made on his memory, so it is probable
when waking he ma follow imaginary
scenes, which the meInorative faculty, or
hope or fear may depict Oh the magma
ton He is said to distinguish at a glance
tramp or swell mOb'S man from gen
tleman, even in the most sOled attire He
Will steal away unperceived on poach-
ing expedition, perhaps invite a servicea-
bic friend to assist him, and when all is
over, steal back into the kennel, and some
times even wriggle his head back into the
collar. y dog which once saw his master
drop gold coin on the floor is related to
have picked it up, and to have set the
whole day with it in his mouth, refusing
to eat anything till his master returned,
for fear he should drop the treas
ure. A poodle puppy, unable to resist
.
and, to avoid detection, filed up the hole
with bit Of damp, inky sponge taken
from a writing table. A dog has been
known to simulae a quarrel with another
dog outside a door into which he wished
TO gain admission, because real quarrel
the day before had led to that result. The
story Of the dog, which, being discarded
by his master, was seen deliberately to
stand gazing at the rushing waters of the
Loire, then painfully lift himself on his
crippled legs, and leap into the water, and
when stick was stretched out to him, gave
a look of despair, turned his head away
and fioated down without an effort to
save himself, has little of poetry in it,
but we are not prepared to deny anything
except the consciousness e., real DELHI
Grafton of the intention of the act With
this exception there is nothing here, or in
much more wonderful stories of the cum
ming and affection of animals, that is at
all Inconsistent with the theory we lay
down. The combinations of direct per
ceptiOn, feeling, memOrative and estimat
i've power, and adaptations to the ever
changing circumstances of their life are
only second 20 the variations of operations
Of intellectual life The difference is that
in animals the perception is of the indivi-
dual and particular good or evil, and
that the operations that lead to the won
dertul variety Of the acts which SO much
resemble men are without reflex con
seriousness, whereas the human mind per
ceives the good and evil, in the abstract,
at least, implicitly, and is capable of con
scious reflection in its acts. And if we
wish to realize in some sense the state of
beasts, we have only to remember that
many of our most complicated acts, which
IN themselves seem to require a long
train of thought, may be performed un-
consciously by mere force of habit. What
Is thus an occasional state in US is in a
certain sense the normal state of beasts,
who have not the power of conscious
ness, but for whom nature supplies that
concentration of sensitive operations
which in us minister to our intellect, but
would have been sufficient for our animal
nature, and are all that is given to beasts.