The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1886-02-19
LEADING A DOG.
4 Painful Experience with an A6ection-
ate. Hut Unruly, Newfoundland.

I
am not. This shows that literary men,
however similar their genius is, may diff
fer in matters of taste. But it was agreed
IN our family that we must have dog.
and a Newfoundland dog at that.
shall not enter into the particulars Of
the discussion. but will merely say, that
at last l agreed to buy the animal.
There is store on Woodward avenue
that is pandemonium. Some very
small dogs were Gagged in the window,
and so l entered the geological boiler.
shop.
Have you Newfoundland dog?"
shouted in the ear of the proprietor.
Eyes" he replied.
'.How old and how much?"
"Three months and eight dollars.
We bargained in capital letters. and
finally l became possessed of the dog
and forty-cent collar, while the pro.
prietor threw in cord with which to
lead the animal. The brute showed
what little sense 1t had by refusing to
leave this babel of birds. 1t sat on the
floor and the boy had to push it along
with a broom while l pulled on the cord
in front. When we got out the propri.
etor followed. and. closing the door SC
that we could talk quietly in the com.
parative silence of the street traffic,
said:
He doesn't look handsome just now.
you know. for he hasn't been fed well
by the man that owned him. You'll
soon get him into good condition. He's
a Titled frightened, but when you lead
him block he'll be all right
So l started down Woodward avenue.
pulling the dog after me. He persiste d
in sitting down and sliding along the
pavement.
'.See here" said a good-natured
stranger, you'll choke that pup to
death in minute or two"
''Well, l can't stay here all day Just
because the pup wants to"
''Oh. you just turn around and try to
lead him up the avenue and he III 60 all
right in the other direction"
patted the dog and easily established
friendly relations with him. He was a
I l.
off again. He made playful little jumps
at people which they generally resented,
and so l was kept busy apolOgizing
most of the way to the first crossing
Here he sat down again and we were
both nearly run over by an impetuOus
buggy. The next block we met another
dog and instantly l thought / was
caught in a whirlwind. / kicked the
brutes apart and hauled mine away by
the string.
''Sce here" said the owner of the
other dog, ''what did you kick my dog
for?"
Il didn't kick your dog-particu-
larly. / kicked at the heap. To even
things up you may kick my dog and
welcome. Further, you may kick me
if you ever meet me leading dog down
Woodward avenue again" He seemed
Modified and went on.
CSessing the Fort street track the dog
sat down again. The car was coming,
of course, and as the driver put on the
brakes he did not disguise what he
thought of both of us. There was moth
ing else for it. so picked the dog bodily
up and carried him to the sidewalk He
thought this was an exhibition of my
affection for him. so he paved ME over
with his muddy feet till was sight to
see. In front of the Russell House he
gave an exhibition of his playfulncss.
There were number of men sitting be-
hind the big plate-glass windows with
their feet at the necessary elevation to
enable them to enjoy the passing show
in comfort. The dog saw some one
that struck his fancy, and making
sudden break for him jerked the
string out of my hand. l endeavored
to coax him back. tried to get hold
of the string again. The miserable
brute thought l wanted to have some
fun with him. He playfully danced
around and barked joyfully. The Rus
sell House people seemed to enjoy the af-
fair 0.ry much. which of course was con-
sOling to me. Two or three times l Just
missed the string and nearly came down
on the pavement in nv anxiety to
grasp it. The dog thought it was fine
sport. He never had met quite as jolly
a fellow as l was. 1t was not every
master that would drop in the crowded
street and play with his dog. He leaped
from side to side and yelped and wagSed
his tail and thought this was not half so
bad a world after all. Meanwhile I
had to dissemble and pretend was his
friend. while all the time would liked
to have kicked him over the city hall
tower. At last l turned. away in dis
gust He came dancing to me, spring
ing up to me and trying to lick my hand
in token of the good time We had had.
He was very affectionate dog.
l caught the string once more. and to
prevent recurrence of this thing tied
the end of it to buttOnhole in my
overcOat. We went along to the next
block in good shape and then met q
small dog. This one didn't want to
fight, but it was in for fun. Round and
round me the two dogs ran until my
dog brought up tightly against my feet,
having wound me up in the string like
a mummy. 1 cut the string at the
buttOnhole and unwound myself free. /
stood back step and gave that dog
one heartfelt kick. He landed near JEFF
ferson avenue, and used the impetus /
gave him to make the quickest time ever
made by Detroit dog when he lit on
his feet. His long. flying howl of dis
appointment and reproach still rings in
my ears. Anybody finding this dog
will confer favor on me by keeping
him.-Luk1 Sharp, tn Detroit Free Press.
APPROPRIATE POETRY.