New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-08-02
IN DOG Days.

l. IN DOG DAYS.
| New Sirius, and for every dog his day. Like
wise for the barking dog who antagonizes the
moon and bays it, to the promotion of insomnia
in his immediate neighborhOod- night But
why the dog-star, why the dog-days and the
dog-nights, why even the dog himself, who
knows For none of them can the orderly and
well-disposed citizen who does not desire to
see his DeighbOr's cat made unhappy, the way
farng man lacerated, or even the predatory rat
| tortured, see any reason for being Still here
is the dog, aud here arc the dog-days. DAYS
which seem to belong exclusively to the dog.
| For though the fly Infatuated by the moist and
| sticky atmosphere, the mosquito thirsty with
| long drouth, and the summer hotel keeper
| hungry from Information, bend all their ener-
gics to phlebotomy in these pcrspiring weary
days, 1t is only the dog that takes it upon him
| self while his star is in the ascendant to go
| mlserably mad and poison incurably wbomso-
| ever he takes notion to taste of. True dogs
do go mad ut other seasons, and il is one of the
| recent discoveries Of science that the average
| dog Is fully as liable to go mad upon any reas-
| enable preteXt at Christmas as in the middle of
August. Indeed, it has been observed by astro-
| nomers and others that quite as many dogs en-
brace hydrophoba during the winter months AS
in the days devoted to them in the calendar IT.
is only within the past few years, however, that
this practice has arisen and it is probably due
to his instructive "pure cussedness." The dog
having got mankind into the belief that there
are only six weeks in the year in which he is
liable to run mad, takes special delight now in
dropping into hydrophobia in the dead of winter
just 10 give mankind a surprise.
Mankind, however-and when we say man
kind we mean Of course the municipal authori-
ties in our large Cties-cling to tho deluson
that the dog is dangerous only in August. And
so, for that matter, is the oyster but frivolous
people make the oyster innocuous by putting
an = in the month and spelling it "Orgust."
This cannot he done in the matter of the dog,
because no one has ever connected the existence
OF hydrophObia with the absence of the p in the
month. The universal belief is that the COM
mon and usual dog never thinks of going mad
except when his star is up. SO it il provided
that in these days Of the dog almost anybody
may kill incontinently and on sight almost any
dog, on suspicion. Pounds are established re-
wards are offered fer live unmuzzled dogs and
thriving branch of industry is opened to small
boys who could not at present prices buy Lake
Shore or New Ork Central, but who can with
u slight expenditure of force and consumption
OF tissue catch dog. And il may bo because
of these municipal regulations and because of
the small boys aertncss and vgilance-con-
lined to the calendar Og-days-that tho dog
has lately taken to going mad out of season. in
the most unexpected times and places. There
| really being no reason that scientists can dis
cover why he should be confined to the dog
days for the enjoyment of hydroph0bia, why
should he not confuse the municipal law. giver
and battle the small boy by selecting some
other season for his "Outing"P
As a matter of fact, the dog mas all seasons for
his own, and goes mad just when he pleases 1t
is a mistake TO coniinc his suppression and limit
the bounty on him to any month in the year
With very few and rare exceptions he is useless.
There should bc bounty on him all the year
round. Outside the sausage he serves no pur-
pose, and i'll the belief of many he is not alto
gethcr digestiblc there. He does not even catch
his own tleGs. He radiates them rather. OF
course, they catch birds, but the bird doesn't
bite or go mad why not keep the birds and
abolish the dog7 Occasionally II dog saves
somebody from drowning, but il figures could
be had we would venture to say they never
saved anybody from drowning who did not turn
out to be piedestined to some other death. No
doubt the st. Bernard dogs have saved some
people from perishing in the snow, but history
furnishes no record of anything in particular
that has been done for the benefit of the race
by the persons saved, and it is more than likely
that they would have had an easier exit if the
rescuing dogs had left them alone than they
did have finally. We do not recall an instance
when dog has indicated his reason for be-
ing. The friendly dog is always too ,lemonstra-
tive; the unfriendly dog is dangerous nui-
sance, and the dog that is neither one nor the
other only occupies space and generates fleas
There are persons who keep blunt nosed dogs
that sit on the piazza crouch in front of you
in the path looking unutterablo things and
emitting low grows that white teeth only
too easily translate; and they tell you, " Oh,
he's good dog perfectly harmless minds me
whenever l speak to him." Shall we tell you
what to do with such dogq Shun his owner
They're both dangerous the owner more than
tho dog.
But good dogs, like good Indians, are dead
Not to invite controversy, make special ex-
ception OF each particular dog whose owner
feels called upon to take issue with us. And
we do believe that the quaint Connecticut
philosopher, Mr.. Elias Cottrell, was moro than
half right when he sad There are more than
five hundred dogs in this town, and two hun
dred and fifty could do all the business
- -
C1MP-CVPE