Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1875-10-15
Juvenile Ethics-Our Duty to Poor,
Dumb Animals.

CHILDREN be kind to animals. There
was once a boy in Burlington who lived
on Division street and took great delight
in teasing animals He would string cur
tain rings on the cats tail and turn tur-
ties over on their backs and burn matches
under the chickens nose and fasten
clothes-pins to the dogs ears or tie tin cans
to their tails just to see them run and howl
in terror. Well, yesterday he enticed
noble dog into the yard, and after petting
him until he secured the confidence of the
noble brute he tied a strong string to his
unsuspecting tail and began to tie an
empty oyster can to the other end of the
string. He was down on his knees, and
had made slip-knot in the cord when a
butchers wagon ratified by, and galloping
along behind it was dog that once called
this other dog, whose tail was being doc
tored, a bow-legged, jimber- jawed, wall
eyed son of sea COW, and this dog had
been waiting to catch hun out alone ever
since. So the minute he saw him running
by he was up and after him like a house
afire. The first jump he made jerked
that slip-knot so tight on that bad boys
thumb that the bad boy wasn't
just exactly certain whether he had
any thumb left or not, but before he
had time to look down and see
whether it wasn't pulled out by the roots
the dog had made another bulge for the
gate, and the boy thought he might MS well
go along little ways and see what was
up. The dog felt the string jerk on his
tail, but, merely remarking to the boy that
he was as mad as wet hen already and
he didn't need to have his tail pulled to
make him fighting mad, lit out in wild
pursuit of his foe. The boy stretched his
arm out as far as it would reach and lit
out also, bowling louder at every Jump,
The dog thought he was encouraging him
and remarked that he was all right, and if
he'd come along he'd show him little
the wickedest fight he ever saw since hair
grew on dogs back. Down Division
street they went, thousand miles a min
ute, boy and dog, the dog little ahead,
but the boy good second, and coming
along at 2:14 gait, and the faster they
ran the louder that boy yelled, and the
more faces he made and the straighter he
stretched out his arm. And the dog under
the butchers wagon heard the fuss after
awhile, and when he turned and recog-
nized the dog he informed the butcher
that he knew that dog, and was going
back to slap his chops, and he trotted
back accordingly. "Who ye follerin g'
he said, and he raised his back
hair into fne-tooth comb and
turned his cropped ears into exclalna-
ton points, and you should have heard
that bad boy howl for the police, and the
fireman, and his mother, and Tom Raper,
and Mons. Tell. The dog the boy was
with just stuck his tail up till it looked
like crow-bar with hair on, and he said
to the other dog; " What did you call me
names for that day?" and oh children, if
you had seen that bad boy tug at that slip
knot and heard him long for the good old
days when there were only two dogs in
the world and they were shut up in the
ark, you would have laid your sticky little
fingers on your innocent little hearts and
promised never 10 be cruel TO animals
again. And the butchers dog, regarding
the boy as an ally of this other dog, said
"Sh'up yer jaw, r'ile smack yer snoot"
and then he lifted himself right up on his
toes and walked around in a circle and
put on style. And the other dog couldn't
stand that, and just then the boy made an
extraordinary tug at the knot and jerked
this other dogs tail, and this other he
thought the boy was launching him to go
in, and he says that's business, )" and the
way he reached for half pound of
sausage meat out of the butchers dogs
neck was caution. And then
round and round, with that boy in the
middle; sometimes one dog bit him and
sometimes the other, and sometimes both.
They got him down in the dust and stood
upon him TO fight. They uamped all
over him and tore his clothes and bitmore
holes in his legs than Mr.. Grupe could
putty up in u week. They pulled his
thumb out of joint, AL raised such a dust
that nobody could see the boy, and didn't
know there was one there until the crowd
of people that gathered around was horri- !
fed and amazed to hear one Of the dogs
yell "Take him Off take him Off He's
got his foot In my eye" in good but pro
fame English, Then they Investigated and
rescued this bad Division-street boy, who
promised his mother that he would never
fool around strange dog again.
Be kind 10 animals, children. If you
want 20 have little fun the best way is TO |
drop a couple of rats into the cistern and |
see them fight tor the block of wood you
can drop in after them, or you can shut
the pantry on the cats tail and hear him |
sing psalms and talk Italian. But don't |
be cruel TO a healthy dog that looks as if
he would rather fight than bark at night
II isn't right; and what is much worse, it |
isn't at all safe, Burlington Hask.Bga