Richland beacon., 1875-05-01
From the New York South.
The Dog Detriment.

There was once phrase abroad,
somewhat more emphatic than ele-
CANT, TO the effect that every poor
man had dog, aud every superla-
tive poor man had two. 1t must also
have occurred TO many people who
may never before have heard of this
saying, that multiplicity of mOngrel
ours Is pretty sure sign of rural
vagabondism. And SO far as the
country is comparable with the city,
this observation is equally true Of the
urban as Of the suburban and farm
ing districts. More than this; while
it il equally true of the town, as OF
the country, we are frank TO say, with
all due Difference to the dear, forlOrn
ststerhoUd who constitute the Chief
concern Of "daughter-logged mamas,
and whose pet passion vasclIIateS
between the two pound tan" and the
pugnacious poodle, according to tue
change of fashions among men, wo-
men, aud dogs, that there is far less
excuse for this pernlcIouS puppylsm
in the town than in the country and
this is the more remarkable and the
IL. ore reprehensible, when we consid-
er The horrible and, thus far, appar-
entity incurablc malady to which the
whole community is thus exposed TO
crafty the criminal and almost in
comprehensive caprice of few
foolish persons Of either sex.
But our present purpose is chiefly,
and briefly, with the dog detriment
as it is in the country-a colossal
burden upon the shoulders of the
farmer, for the most part without any
compensating benefit; an absolute
obstruction TO one OF the most eS-
sential aud profitable Of all farming
pursuits-sheepraising !; partial i'm
poverishment of whole communities
to crafty this pauper puppy indu!-
gence.
Now, doubtless, there is a place
and a purpose for every living thing.
And there are useful dogs, as there
are apparently, useless men, aud
many more of the latter than of the
former The shepherd dog is per-
baps necessity 10 the proper sheep
raiser and it seems TO be statisticallv
certain that most other dogs are
curse to his interest. Therefore, in
the name Of humanity, in its fears of,
or suffering from, the horrors of hy-
drophobia and in the name of the
stock-raiser and the shepherd, of in
dlvidual interest, agricultural pros
perity and the general W, w,lfare, out
upon this most extravagant and in
detensible dog enigma and iniquitv.
Aud in the name of all good dogs
aud honest men, let the owners of .be
worthless CANNES, in country or city,
be compelled, by heavy tax and rig
orous exaction for every dog damage,
to yield their ownership to the dog
executioner. As to all such dogs, let
the old addage be modified into a
legal enactment, whose plain intent
and meaning shall be: Every dog
has had bis day.
If more arguments are needed TO
justify this doom of the dogs, they
may be found in some of the follow
ing facts In many sections other
wise admirably suited TO sheep-rais-
ing-one of the most important and
profitable of all agricultural enter
priSes-it has been abandoned, on
account Of this curse of the ours. On
a single Sunday in January last, dogs
ruined 62 head of flock of 10 sheep
in Medina County, Ohio, some OF
which were worth S25 per head Ac-
cording to the report of the Agricul-
tural Department at Washington, the
direct lnsses by dog depredations are
a million of dollars annually, in wool
and mutton, and. indirectly, even a
larger sum, in the repression of sheep
husbandry, and the consequent waste
OF larSe percentage of the annual
crop o ess. 1t is estimated upon
the same authority, that more than
10000 sheep were killed by dogs
during the past year, in counties
holding one-fourlh of the territory
and nearly one-fourlh of the sheep o
the United States. Can anythin;
more be needed to prove the fact O
the dog de'riment, aud that it is
duty to wipe it cut, as an almos
unmitigated and altogether indefensi
bic curse to the country? No pei
son of sense will assert it.