Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1882-06-01
Dogs Of My Acquaintance.

/ lives Ill INC" cClSCy. LIZ oEAoC oA Liz
great size and strength, Bruno has the
most lovely of dispositions: Here is an
example. He has two other ST. Ber-
nards as playmates in his kennel much
Younger dogs. but very lively, and huge
iromps the three have. Not long since,
/ Gretchen, the smallest of this trio, mis-
| behaved. Punishment was necessary.
! Poor Gretchen, trembling all over, was
! held down bv her master, who leaned
/ over her with whip appraised. Just at
that instant he felt gentle pressure
from behind upon his shoulder, and
turned to behold Bruno balancing HIM
self on three legs, and holding out the
fourth paw entreatingly, while with a
most beseeching expression in his brown
eyes he thus was trying to ''begt OFF,
his playmate from the whipping. Don't
YOU think that you would have thrown
the whip to the other end of the yard
after that, and given Bruno hug? That
is what his master did, at any rate.
An English friend of mine told me
! lately of dog with whom | should be
proud to "shake hands, and whom |
hope some day to meet. His name is
Captain, and he is young bull terrier,
very thickset and active. He is accus-
toned to drive every afternoon with the
groom to the railroad station to meet his
master. Not long since this groom hap
pened to take out very freakish horse,
which, left alone at the depot with only
Captain in the trap, took fright and ran
furiouslv down the road. Captain bold
" leaped from the vehicle, rolled over
in the dust, dashed up again. and dart
ed after the horse. The reins were drag
ging on the ground. Selling them in
his mouth, Captain hung on, in spite of
all further bouncings and draggings,
until he had actually stopped the horse.
and that before any serious mischief had
been done. Was not that courageous
act for even plucky little English bull
dog?
This same Captain, when he was much
younger, and required some whippings
in course of his training, used to hide
the whip wherewith the stable-man
switched him. One day, while it was
being hunted for, somebody suggested:
"Look in Captains kennel" Away
ran the gardeners boy, just in time to
overtake Captain jumping out of his
kennel with the lost whip in his jaws.
He must have heard and quite under
stood the direction given to search his
quarters, and thus tried to spoil the re-
suit. On being discovered, he made no
attempt to hide his clever trick, but
dropped the whip guilty, and took to
his heels. ..-.. a
Pampo was small terrier whom I
knew very well long ago. EGO get
your collar, Pampo;'' "Pampo, I feel
door open somewhere upstairs; go find
it and shut it, were commands he en-
tirely understood and obeyed. At nine
o'clock every evening his master, an
old gentleman with snow-whte hair,
would turn to his wife across the hearth
and say, very gently and without look
ing at all in Pampo's direction as the
little dog lay doing beside them:
"Wife, | think it is high time for dogs
to 60 to bed" Pampo would, without
further orders, meekly rise and stink off
to his box in the hallway.
One of the handsomest and best
behaved mastiifs that ever / met was
Eneas, a Massachusetts, gentleman's
particular pet. Eneas was, in spite Of
his size. as frolicsome as kitten, very
faithful and intelligent, but SO great
lover of good cheer. The number of
dinners that he could digest in the day,
something marvellous. Small wonder,
indeed, that he grew fat One day the
cook, with his breakfast, also gave him
a sound lecture on his besetting weak
ness. "Do you think this house can
afford to keep such a great greedy
beast as you?'' I heard her saying
''You do nothing but eat, eat, eat the
whole day long. What do you do for
it?'' Imagine cook astonishment when,
later on in that very morning. Eneas
marched up to her, holding tenderly in
his jaws poor duck, alive but squawk-
ing vigorously, which he had encoun-
tered IN a ncighbor's yard. captured,
and now brought to his friend, as much
as to say: See, can do something for
my own support, after all. L have
caught this duck to be cooked for my
next meal.' LIT }a 4ts.' d
A French peasant whom DR. Morris, in
his delightful book of dog stories speaks
about, came home from market with a
well-filled pocket-book in his knapsack,
and his poodle at his heels. Imagine the
poor fellows grief when, on reaching
his house, he discovered hole in the
knapsack, through which his purse must
have fallen to the ground! But also
picture his delight, an instant later, on
seeing his faithful little companion enter
the room. carrying the lost treasure in
his mouth! He had seen it fall, quietly
picked it up, and followed the whole
distance with it.
Did you ever think how many queer
old proverbs there are concerning dogs?
/" Love me, love my dog" ssGive a dog
a bad name and hang him. "A living
dog is bette<than a dead lion;" "a dogs
life" - Going to the Dogs" these are
phrases we often hear Uncomnl;me,,ta-
~ as many such are, they can. not
alter the truth that the dog is the most
faithful. loving and pleasant of mani g.
four-footed friends, and one who, If he
can not talk, must in some sense think.
reason, and-just not talk. -EdWard /.
Stevenson. in Harper's Young People.