The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1879-05-10
NEARLY OUT OF DOGS.
DEPLORABLE CONDITION OF SEW
ERAL DISTRICTS IN THE COUNTY
But One Canine Mother in the Sixth District, One
in the Eighth, Three in the Ninth-W Wonder
full Pecundity of these Solitary Animals.

Ii The announcement were 10 IL. made that
christianity WAS on the decline in Cecil cuun-
ty, and that notwithstanding the work III
the churches, the number of consistent chris
tians We're daily diminishing, ii would doubt
less be 4 source of deep humiliation and UNI
happiness to every pious man and woman
in the county. Unwecomc, however, As any
such intelligence would he to :; handful OF
consistent christians. seriously We do not
believe ii would be received with half the
personal concern, by oue-half as ihany per-
sons, us the simple announcement: that the
supply OF dogs was growing less in this fay
ored section of Maryland. The natural per-
versity of man seems t" he SO closely allied
with the reckless raids of ownerless ours and
their unlimited propagation, that the dog
''spot seems to he Il peculiarly tender one
about the person of the average biped Love
strikingly illustrative of human affection,
and which. not to state the ease too strongly,
seems to indicate the drift of modern human
impulse. Laying aside rhetoric, however,
and stating the case in plain terms, the axiom
above quoted has far more force with the
first dozen dog lovers you meet than its para
phrased paradoN love me love my chill
dren." For the fact is, that your genuine
do. t;tncier. YOUR chronic worShiper AT the
altar of canine perfection, your enthusiastic
competitor ut the ''bench show" your sym
pathetic dumb brute idolatcr. between whom
and every other man there stands the braZen
image OF !: dog. dwarfS every other affection
in his canine mania. There are plenty of
men in Cecil county who lavish more time.
more money, and more personal trouble
upon their dogs than they do upon their
own offspring. They can find ample time
outside of the demands of business to teach
their dogs smart tricks on bench and in field.
that cannot spare one moment 10 teach their
children good manners. Their dogs hctray
better evidences of canine education. than
their own children exhibit the results of par
entail teaching. There are plenty of men in
Cecil county, and high-toncd'' ones too,
who wouldn't be seen trundling their babies
for morning airing, who trot out their dogs
daily for health and eXcrciSc-SundayS in
cludcd. They cXpend the greatest personal
care in the training of Il dog hut trust the
blessed baby to tine tender hand; OF any
careless nurse. As a luxury. whether fed
at home, nr, hy starvation, taught to dine
off his ncighbor, :; dog, blessed with a raven
Gus appetite, is supported by nearly every
poor man. We state the fact merely, the
cause is metaphysical one we need not dis
cllSs
This common affection existing hetwecn
tn" man and dog, whether natural or un-
natural whether laudablc or nor. whether
reasonable or unreasonable. just as individ-
ual opinion may hold it. is ut least uni
versal and potential that even the sworn
officers Of the county are demoralized by it.
The law in this county, regulating the as
sesSment and taxation of dogs, requires the
collectors of taxes to make an annual sworn
return of the number male and female owned
in their respective districts. Now let us
see how they have succumbcd to the pre-
vailing weakness on dogs. The whole num-
Der returned last year was 22,4Ol, distributed
as follows: