The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1886-06-05
A SAGAClOUS DOG.


of IA Tibetan Canine.
When brought my Tibetan dog to
this country he was seven months old
and was very large, but in poor condi-
ton. / fed him well, and when two
years old he stood two feet nine inches
high, and weighed 1877 pounds; his
neck was twenty-three inches in cir
conference and his head twenty-four
inches in front of the ears. He wanted
apparently to take part in all the work
he saw going on in the house. He
would, without any teaching, carry
wooden pals and wood for the fire;
and if | went for newspapers he would
wait patiently until l took them in my
hand, then he would come up and take
them from me, and would go on before
me and give them to my wife.
Nothing would make him eat until
about four O clock in the afternoon. He
would not touch his food unless it was
nicely prepared, and would, if dissatis-
fed, refuse to eat till next day at the
same hour. Seeding gave him great
offense; if ordered away rudely he would
90 to his bed and lie an entire day re-
fusing to recognize the caresses of any
one. took no pains to train him, al
though he seemed to beg me to do so by
bringing my shoes and other things and
laying them at my feet When busy |
used to lock him with his mate in my
rooms and tell them to be good till
on, haol- It1cf &c laxr
was turned in the door he would go to
his mate and give her a severe bite. 1
tried in every way to stop this, but
could not until | took the mate out with
me and left him alone; told him why
/ / did so and he then stopped biting her.
Among the books in my sitting-room
was one on dogs containing a picture
of each breed, with descriptive notes.
One day when returned | found my
books scattered over the floor and the
| dog book torn to pieces. The dogs were
nowhere to be seen. | called them, but
got no reply. Going into my bedroom
j found them both under the bed, and
no coaxing could induce them to come
out for several hours. / never knew
how and why they selected that BOOK
to destroy it. ........
He came to his death by jumping
seventeen feet from window to get at
large dog that was passing; he in
/ jured himself so severely that he died
from inflammation The night he died
he came to my bedside and began to
pull the clothes off my bed in order to
waken me. When | arose he made an
attempt to leave the room but fell
down, and when said ''Good dog, you
are very SICK he groaned piteously
and tried to rise, but could not. | saw
that he wanted to get to his bed and |
carried him there. When l laid him
down and patted him he licked my
hand with all the strength he had left.
He died in half an hour, sensible to the
last moment. The day after, removed
the skin to get it tanned for stuffing,
and his son, dog which | still own,
saw me do it. He watched at a dis
lance during the operation and, whether
from grief or fear, he refused to eat for
an entire week afterward. This dog is
also a most intelligent animal. He
stands two feet seven, and weighs when
in good condition over one hundred and
seventy pounds. When he was year
old he would go out with me in buggy
on country road, take the horses
reins in his mouth and hold
them for distance of two miles.
When | used the whip he would
bark, then catch it in his mouth
and retain it for some time. When |
am writing he will jump on the table
and lie there watching me for hours.
When he gets tired of this he jumps up
and grabs at the pen in my hand; if |
let it go he will chew it to pieces, then
leap down as if to say, "You have done
enough, now you must stop" If his
food is not brought into the house by
three o'clock, he will give us no peace
till some one goes for it and he sees it
put on the fire. He is very fond of music
and especially of singing; when he hears
certain songs sung he will leap on a
table or chair and hold out his great
! paws to the singer as if in applause.
When thirsty he goes to the faucet,
/ turns on the water and drinks, but
I nothing can make him turn it of
again. He used to carry bucket of
water to the horse and return with it
empty to get it refilled If the horse
would not drink the second time the
dog would spill the water with his fore
feet and carry off the empty pail in dis
gust. If child cries in his presence
he will lick its face to stop it, and will
allow no one to whip child when he
is present These Tibetans surpass all
dogs | ever saw in intelligence and
fidelity.-Cor. NJ Y. Tribune.