National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1877-06-25
DOOMED CANNES.
THE POUND AND THE FATE OF ALL
UNMUzZL ED DOGS.

to he Seen at the Pound-Necessity In
Washington for an Infirmary for Dogs.
One Of the most interesting spots in large
city during the hot season Is its pound. Under
the west wall of the National Observatory, at
the foot Of Twenty street, Is little
board enclosure, which does Washington ser.
vice as pound. While the gray headed
philosophers In the dome above are ransacking
the heavens In search Of comets and celestial
collisions, Poundmaster Einstein down below
grows sad over the fatcs Of the dogs The
pound is reached by clambcring through a
street recently cut into the hill. Down ut the
end Of the street, near the old canal, which Is
musical at night with the complaints Of a
myriad Of frogs, and by the moss-covcred wall
Of the Observatory grounds, Is the pound. II
is an enclosure about thirty feet square. In
one corner Is the office of the poundpiastcr,
where the dog .catchers loll lazily in the day
time. In another corner Is q little stable for
the pound horse; In another the wagons used
in the service; and In the last corner is bin
or large wooden cage, in which the dogs i'm
pounded are dumped.
Two or three goats generally roam at large
about the open space in the enclosure. Wash
ington is great city for dogs. Az o'clock In
the morning, nothing can be heard but the
continued barking of dogs. It seems as
though there was canine army OH the horizon
trying to bark the city out Of existence. Then
| the dog In the next yard gets up, shakes him
self, sits down on his launches and barks back.
A Washington dog can sit and bark for four
hours, winding up with a howl ten minutes
long, and then get up and feel as IL he had not
done all that was expected Of him. Muzzling
time came on the 18th Of May, and since that
1 time many Of the dogs have done their bark
ing under difficulties, but still they persovercd,
and 1t can he said to the credit of Washington
dogs that they did not let such q thing as that
dismay them. II Is the unmuzzled dogs, how
| hat tttaN, AaI
dogs In the city which have been disowned, or
which never had proprietos-canine castaways
| who steal a scanty living ont Of swill-tubs, or
prospect through alleys and CUTTERS for nuggets
Of bone. They grow lean and NANCY and
hungry. Most Of these vagrant dogs have
something the matter with one leg, 80 that
they have to anibulatc on three. Those who
have had the good furtune to have preserved
their tails carry them always between their legs.
They are never known 10 wag them or hold
them up in the air like dogs that have regard
for their personal appearance. They stink
through the streets as If they were ashamed
Of their bad luck, and go siding around cor
ncrs keeping close to the wall aud looking
ascant as if they were always on the lookout
for stones and boys with tin cans. They have
been chased and worried and tin panned until
they think that they have no rights In the
world at all that anybody Is bound to respect
When one Of them finds promising bone he
, uOn SIT NUWn hnu PUtW ~ vi tht bpott WV
g. gulps II into his mouth and runs like q thiei
until he gets out Of sight, and then tremblingly
, investigates his prize. Once In awhile cast
away OF trampdog becomes social and gets into
J q crowd Of vel. fed dogs, and snufs and awk'
warily goes through the salutations common
to well-bred dogs, and tries to wag his tail; but
, | he Is never encouraged. The aristocratic ours
turn up their whiskcrcd noses at the plebeiar
intruder, and II he becomes too familiar they
!; turn upon him and chase him out Of the neigh
borhoo1. Thus he becomes sour, dyspeptit
and cynical. 1t were better never to have
been born ut NIL than to have been born stree
| dog. Man is his enemy, dog Is his enemy, ca
lay his head except in some stable. The hors'
is the only one Of Gods creatures that Il
|, friendly to the homeless dog.
I When the castaway cur Is taken to TIT
pound, where all dogs are placed on the SAINT
level, he realizes after all that life Is simply
dream, and that in the end he is just as wei
of as the little long-eared pets with fame,
: collars and squeaky voices, who sport upoI
rugs in luxurious homes and have milk ant
: meat for dinner. The dog-catchcr, like death
\ Is no respecter Of persons Perhaps, In tn
q war annually wagcd against the dogs, tn
4 wandering dog has the advantage He sus
U poets all men, and therefore does not ALLOW
I any of them to come within kicking distance
a and he knows the turnings and twistings O
a his native alleys better than the savage know
. the foot paths In tho forest. The highly-fed
n "unco guild dogs, with aristocratic con
g nections, are easily duped into the hands Q
a the pound men, and they become the victim
o Of their own lack Of rough experience. tn
e pound linen start out ut 3 o'clock In tn
:. morning. Sam Einstein, the pound-mastei
@ and three colored men, who catch the dog
v generally form the escort Of the wagon.
d The wagon Is a common covered wagon lik
4 those used by grocer in delivering good
a There is grating in front and q grated gat
v behind like butchers cart. The three co
n ored men arc armed with pole-nets. The net
|, are strong and the poles about eight feet loni
r. They start out at the dark hour Of mornin
a Just before the East begins to glow with til
o new day. The dogs are just winding up I'll
programme Of their all-night opera at thu
hour. Big dogs stick their heads out Of the
kennels and bark few slaves. Little doi
who have barked themselves hoarse scratc
$. on the fence and yell out fearful accompan
re ments. Dogs on the streets stop to howl in n
rs sponse. to the general pandemonium in I'll
re yards This makes the dog-catchers hea
J. happy as he slyly gldes along the street wit
n his net and wishes that some dog would ru
t. out at him. Finally some ill-starrcd dc
&c rashly Jumps through hole in q fence an
,e stopping short about twelve feet from Il
re catcher, spreads his front legs apar
IN erects his tail and in his fatal ignoi
r ance yelps saucily at the chuckling and vii
~ dog catcher. The dog catcher stops and say
be Doggy doggy, doggy" The dog comes u
C, another foot aud yelps at one note higher
rs the scale. Then he prances about as II he ha
az half mind to rush upon the dog catcher IN
to punish him for his impudence. Come hya
or doggy" softly pleads the dog catcher, and Il
or dog pranccs another foot nearer and com
MT almost in reach of the net. "Whop, who
&c doggy, doggy, come, come" continues the do
ne catcher seductivcly, and holding his hand az
nv he had piece Of meat. The yelping dog tax
x. the fatal step and eyes the hand longingl
The next moment he is bagged.
Got him, 'Lijah2 ?" asks another Of b
IIy colorcd men, who had been watching Il
operation from the other side Of the street, ~
mr.. who runs over when he sees the net go dow
,es "Yab, yah, you bet. When i drops this y
nd net over him he amt gwine to get away" Al
al Elijah carefully lifts up one corner Of the n
',o and catching hold of the dog behind the ca
40, swings him up into the wagon and loc
On the gate Before eight o'clock in the morni
nr the wagon, which will hold about thirty do
a. is full, and II Is driven to the pound
,n When they reach the enclosure the wag
rsc Is backed up to the bin or cage, the trap
No. the top Is opened, and the dogs are liberat
for from the wagon and jump into more lOatl
nv some prison. The exhibition in the
~ wooden cage is equal in many respects to /
big bench show Of dogs which was recent
h,l In Nayy ynrl The lnQa arp m ~ N