Public ledger. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1865-1893, 1882-05-24
hAn0A IN BERLIN.
How Dogs, Boys and Old WOs
men are Made Useful In the
German Capital-A Canine
Festivals rOschkies and Their
Drivers.
psrlin God. san Frnnol.oo Chroniolo.

EN0EASa &hA 0RHN
classes affect large bloodhounds, heav
and strong enough to make shor
work OF a man on occasion; or els
they go to the opposite extrome, an
are the happy owners of diminutiv
lap dogs, whose sleek sides and EN-
broidered blankets bear eloquent ties
timony to the love, and even adora
ton, they are held in by thei
doting female owners. But thes
are what might be called the arts
tocratic circle Of the dog society. Be
low this exclusive and blue bloode,
layer comes the much more numerous
but more useful, plebeian dog, VIII,
has to carr his own living and aid BIZ
master in getting his. Toan American
there is something very amusing il
this utilizing of dog power, and one
watches the curious little carts q
gathering over the stone pavement,
with mingled feelings of pity for the
dogs and anger toward the masters
who force the poor little brutes ID
make horses Of themselves. But
everybody in the lower classes must
work, and work hard, to keep the wolf
from the door and, if the dogs are
unfortunate enough to be born into a
peasant family, one should not feel
very bad about it. But the dogs
some of them, at least-seem to feel
pretty happy and contented, and 20
trotting along in front Of their
load with their tails up and
wagging, while their masters busy
themselves in pulling back on the
wagon tongue to restrain their eager
ness.
One sees various combinations and
styles of dog teams, varying, of course,
with the wealth and station in life Of
the owners For ordinary purposes
and light work a single dog is sufi-
Gent, but when the load to be drawn
is a little heavier, and the owners
purse will not permit Of the extra ex-
pense of another dog to feed, a boy is
put on the other side of the tongue,
and dog and boy go cOntentedly along
together, the dog, of course, doing
most of the work, and the boy, as all
boys will, amusing himself by whis-
Ting, racing with other teams, and
stopping now and then to discuss mat
ters with other boys. When there is
no boy handy, which is tolerably fire.
quent, an old woman or girl bitches
herself in alongside the dog and tugs
stOlidly, feeling, no
doubt, happy and contented in her
possession OF one of woman's rights.
who are a little weather. and q
more aristocratic employ double
teams OF dogs, and the creme de la
creme, so to speak, of the peasantry
go to the extravaganza of hitching in
three dogs. But the latter is rather
rare, because the old women are suf.
ficiently numerous to enable one to
avoid such an %extravagant outlay.
The old women must be fed, and why
should they remain idle7 Not only
are these dog teams employed by the
peasants to draw their loads of vege-
tables, milk and the like, but some Of
the stores have them attached to de-
wagons. Perhaps it is merely a
matter Of taste, but it seems to me
that a purchase Of dry goods delivered
by one of these dog teams would not
seem so good as if it were delivered
by one Of the fine turnouts one sees in
San Francisco bearing the names Of
some of the dry goods firms there.
One cannot imagine how much there
is in early education until he has had
an opportunity to test it.
Although Berlin is, in many re-
spects, a very paradise for dogs, yet in
some Others it is not. For every dog,
be he plebeian or aristocrat, must
wear 4 tag and a muzzle; SO that a dog
cannot amuse himself by getting into
heated political discussions with other
dogs, nor can he assert his indepen
dence by demonstrating in a tone Of
biting sarcasm with one who is unfor-
tunate enough to tread on his tail.
There is no respect for dog parsonage
in the imposition Of the muzzle but,
from the fierce, resentful bloodhound
down to the little, fearful, crying
poodle, all must wear muzzles when
ever they appear in public. During
the dog days every dog must be
led by a string when he appears on
the street, on pain of confiscatisn
and destruction, but when the
dreaded days are over there il
a sort of dog holiday. On a certain
day all the dogs appear on the street,
deckedinribbons Enthusiastically disposed
about neck, body and tail. On such
day the streets are moving kaleido.
scope of bright %colors, and the dogs
freed from strings and lashes, e
barking and friskiDg about the streets
In some cities of Germany the dog
are allowed greater liberties than this
and are permitted to run about on thiI
day freed from the restraint of even
muzzle. One can then amuse himsel
to his hearts content in watching thu
antics and gambols Of dogs, Of al
shapes, %colors, sizes, degrees and dec
orations and stations in life. Do
nature, variety and jealousy appea
greatest on such an occasion; for dogs
az we'll as men, know when they ar
we'll dressed; are proud Of brigh
c%olors, and are as jealous Of their NOR
fortunate. fellows as are their mas
tiers. At such times canine ~alterca
tions are numerous, and ribbons an
decorations suffer. Some dog belong
/ ing to an %aristOcratic family will com
trotting down the street swelled wit
pride over his expensive trimming
and decorations, and casting disdain
full ~glances at his less fortunate fellows
But he does not go very far before h
falls in with some Democratic do
who does not believe in a~ristocracy
and the result is that the aristocra
is rolled and tumbled in the dirt, an
goes off home, bleeding and stripped o
| his "a m oarrv o~Onafarnofio