National Republican., 1883-07-04
THE RUSSIAN BLoopHounD.
A Fcrocious and Vicious Brute without
Single Virtue.

Fero oious and Vicious Brute without
Single Virtue.
The case of George Carl, charged with keep.
ing dangerous dogs, came up in the police
court yesterday. The circumstances of their
attacking Mrs. Ankin, which have already
appeared in The REPUBLICAN, were set forth
in the testimony, and Judge Smell in dis.
posing of the case, said "This case presents
the dstressful inadequacy of this dog law.
| Inc law imposes fine of $40 against people
who keep dogs that destroy human life and
it is wonder that the life Of this lady was
not destroyed. If congress had made the fine
as much as 1000 IL would have been little
nearer the mark OF course the injured party
has a good action for damages against the
owner of the dogs that inAict tho injury, but
as rule people who keep such dogs are not
worth the dogs they keep, and If you were to
sue them you would perhaps get the skin of
the dog. will impose the only fine the law
provides-$1 -$10-and that is all l can do"
Mrs. Ankin asked the court If the dogs could
not be killed, and the court replied that her
friends would be safe in killing the animals
The attack by Mr.. Carls dogs on Mrs.
AnlSin brings up the question, What is that
kind of dog worth2 They have been brought
to Washington within the past twenty-three
years and are commonly called Russian
bloodhounds This is misnomer. There Is
no such thing as Russian bloodhound. The
dogs in question belong to variety of what
is classified as the great Dane dog. The typi-
cal animal of tho species is found in his
perfection in the peninsula of Jutland. With
the exception of the Thibet mastiff, and of
particularly fine specimens of the Highland
deer hound, he is the largest dog known
From Jutland he is scattered in more or
less deviation from the original type sun h
ward to the Adriatic sea, and eastward aS lar
as the Ural mountains. A variety Is the Dali
matian, or spotted coach dog, evidently
crossed with tho smooth Italian greyhound.
In the north OF Germany he appears as the
Pomeranian bOarh1und, cross OF the true
Dane with the Aipne ma5tih. Of this va
rioty is Prince BisinarcN'5 famous and fero-
cious brute. In Russia and Poland, mixed
with the Russian terrier, he Is the dog called
in this city the Ru sian bloodhound. of which
the two that attacked Mrs. Ankn are speei-
mems. lie has been known in those parts of
Germany occupied by the Slavic race Tor a
great while. aud has become within the cen-
tury a fashion with Germans. By them he
was brought TO Washington.
IL 10 difficult 70 see of what value in any
OF its varieties, Is this dog in thickly set
tied and civilized country. He is sullen fero-
ciou3, aud yrdictive He has as little brain
as the English bull dog, and not particle of
tho dauntless courage which has made the
Olll dog for twenty centuries the highest
typo OF pluck. The Dane cannot be made a
pet. lie is che only dog, except the Austria
nan dingo, which cannot be trusted. The best
variety OF the species is the Pomeranian boar
hound. which owes most Of its virtues to its
GRO with tho Alpine mastiff. 1t is dog not
indigenous 10 Europe, but was brought from
the Al5alc highlands by the Alans, by them
left IN JutlaSo, whence it has spread, and
also taken by them to Spain, where its bad
qualities are seen in the deterioration its
slight cross has given the Spanish mastiff. 1t
was carried to Ireland by the Danes, but was
more thoroughly exterminated by the great
irish wolfhound than its masters were by the
Irish warriors.
Sullen, vindictive, and ferocious, untrust-
worthy and unreliable, kept always under
chain, whipped by any plucky dog anything
like its weight and size, it is an unfit dog to
keep in a city or anywhere in an orderly
and law abiding community. 1t is the only
dog known, save the dingo, that prefers the
lower animals to man. Its great size and
strength make it formidable, and it should not
be allowed to exist in a city except with an
English mastif or a Highland deerhound
always in attendance to keep it in wholesome
restraint. AS this would be difficult con-
dition to meet, the so-called Russian blood |
hound should, like the Chinese, be made
TO 90.