The Emporia weekly news. [volume] (Emporia, Kan.) 1881-1889, 1885-09-24
PEoPLE WHO RuY PErs.
They Have Many Peculiar Fancfcs-A
Monkey that Woe SpectaeIes.

PEOPLE WHO BUY PETS
They Have Many Peculiar Fancscs-A
Monkey that Wose speCtaeIes.
what sorts of people care most for
pet animalsP" asked a reporter Of .
dealer.
''Such variety of people like pets"
said he. 'sand they like them In so
many ways and for so many reasons,
that it IS hard to say which ones have
the call Perhaps it's the good-hearted
people. and then perhaps It isn't. The
biggest price / ever got for cat was
$50, and that was from a man who
would feel sore about giving 80 cents
to blood relation. He was a widow
er. One morning he came in hero to
collect bill. and a fine Maltese of
mine kept rubbing against his leg. The
widower made believe not to notice the
cat, but at last he looked up to me
quite suddenly and said: i suppose
man has got to love something He
said it as though it was q sort of hard
ship. Then he paid the price without
grumbling.
The wisest old chap that ever came
into this store bought terrier for a
grandson of his who was sort of an
invalid.
My grandson's mighty irritable.
said the old gentleman, and he is hard
to live with, but if ne gets interested in
this pup. he's going to get well, l
have had quite a number of customers
among people in poor health. They
were mostly ladies. Some women take
to pets because they think no one else
| will care for them, or because they
have been disappointed in love and
want to care for something that will
show affection.
.'Phere is one curious difference be-
tween men and women about pets. A
man will sometimes sell one when it
| gets sick, but a woman will hold on to it
| until it gets well or dies Women that
| have the genuine love for animals seem
TO care all the more for pets that are sick.
l have often sold them sick pets that
they would not have fancied had the
| animal been we'll. A woman came here
| for pug last winter, when / had adj
vertised some very fine ones, bat she
| concluded to take spaniel that looked
as though he wouldn't live week.
| The dog got well and became the most
atfectionate animal l ever saw.
Il anu coldly distant to anything in
the nature of a watchdog. L couldn't
| sell a watchdog if | allowed him too
l
| Dogs intended To sell for pets must be
kept just on the ragged edge of atfec-
ton, as it were. Ii they show too
| much love for the dealer some ladies
won't want them. 1 have had ten
der-hearLed lady remark that she
| wouldn't take Il dog of mine because
! it would be cruel TO part us. OF
| course, q circumstance of that kind in
lures a dealers business.
ARTISTS prefer cats to other pet
animals, and they are first rate judges.
4 large, finely-marked tortoise smell
suits them we'll. took in $40 from an
artist one day for superbly-marked
mottled gray. 1t had what we call the
night and day stain. Artists go strong
on having a graceful cat Now, all
cats are graceful, but some have more
of an easy movement than others, and
some have more style. There are lots
of people who think it makes things
look comfortable to have large cat
around. Some of my biggest tabbies
have been sold to people who cared
more about getting a cheerful effect in
their rooms than they did for cats.
Dogs do not seem to be in favor
with musicians. A Yiolinist once told
me he couldn't keep them because
their barking grated on his ear. But
musicians don't seem to care fo4 sing
ing birds any more than for dogs, and
there is a belief in the trade that the
only pet that goes well with musician:
is a monkey. Monkeys and parrots
are not genuine pets; they are curiosi
, ties. l have known monkeys to show
great fondness for each other. Blu
they do not care for human beings.
lady customer of mine has three o.
: them. She says that none of them has
shown any affection for her. She likes
them partly because they amuse heI
and partly for a queer idea she mas.
She says she couldn't love a pet that
eturned her affection.
''People learn to dislike pets for
queer causes. A woman came here tC
swap off pet terrier because he barked
one day when she took off her wig.
Another woman gave me back mon
key at half price because, she said, he
made faces behind her back-she saw
him in the glass. told her that monkeys
!, had habit of making faces, and that
it was necessary to their nature. And
so it is. I've seen them go into cor.
ner and make the most outrageous
faces, without any apparent cause.
But the old lady declared it was disre-
spectfuL l had a parrot that had beer
, educated by sailor. When told hel
about it she at once took strong
fancy to the bird because, she said,. she
thought she could reform it.
II know a man that spent a year il
teaching a monkey how to use eye
glasses. He assures me that every
time the monkey hops up on his libra
ry table with newspaper or stretche!
out in a chair with the glasses on h'
excites irresistible laughter. l didn'
understand how the fun could be 81
lasting, until one day, when l went W
to doctor the monkey. One look a
him was sufficient. When you con
slider what awful faces monkey cal
produce, even in his most serene mo
ments, and then imagine what IN
would be capable of developing will
an eyeglass. you can gain an idea o
the intrinsic value of such an animal.
-Net0 York San.