, 1888-12-04
AN INTELLECTUAL DOG.
A Story of Canine Observation-Disclosures the
Way Homo.

A Story OF Canine Demonstrating the
Way Home.
Carriage dogs are seldom good look
lngi l, for my part, have a dislike to
their spotty appearance, but l must
confess to a weakness for Spot, who is
really quite one of the cleverest dogs
l have ever known, and though some
of the stories told of him sound alto
gether improbable, the truth of them
can be vouched for without hesitation.
Part of his life he lived at Cambridge.
and as he had a great deal of spare
time on his hands (his master being
much e~ngrossed by his literary work.,
he took to paying visits to a neighbor-
ing police station and taking his exer-
else with members of the staff. His
master knew but little of his move
ments, as Spot vas a dog of ~independ-
ent habits and well able to take a r of
himself. On some occasions he alb
scented himself for a few days together,
but always turned up safe and sound
at the end of that time, no anxiety
being meantime felt about him, al
though nobody knew what he did With
himself.
Enlightenment on this point was
brought home to his master in the fol-
doLLlOI II Ildu Deem RINlnU
himself a little more relaxation Of late.
and Spot had been, in consequence
more with him, and less abroad on his
own devices. One evening, as master
and dog were sitting over tho fire
together, there came a knock at the
door, followed by the entrance of a
police constable, whose
Spot hailed by Hopping his tail upon
the floor. IF you please, sir" began
the man, civilly, I've come TO ask if
you can kindly spare the dog for a bitY'
The dogi" replied the master, in sur
prise; my dog, do you meant What
do you want him for2" "We've got a
new man on the beat, sir" was the
answer, as if that could explain every
thing.
Much perplexed, the dogs master
elected the information that Spot, from
accompanying the different men on
their rounds, had learned every beat
with the greatest precision, and was
quite n qualified adept ut instructing
the new man. The constable simply
started the dog on any given round
and babe the new man follow him:
and sure enough Spot would show him
his beat, take him accurately round it,
and never make a mistake. Night or
day he would be at the service OF any
new man, and would constitute him
self his protector until he had famil-
iarized himself with his new duties.
1T saves us telling off a man TO in
struct a new conner, you see, sir" con
cluded the constable. "And if SO be
MS you can spare the dog you'll be
doing us a kindness. Taught him, sir2
Bless you, he taught his own self.
Nobody ever taught him nothing.
Dogs like that don't want no teaching.
He just keeps his eyes and ears open,
and takes it in like u human creature
that he dol" 1t really seemed some
times as if the policeman's words were
true.
One of the o n of the house where
he lived, who was going to live in
Dublin, pettioned to take Spot with
him, as he was such a companion.
This was agreed to, and Spot was taken
from the Manor house, where his lat
ter years had been passed, and trans
planted to Dublin. Letters brought
the news that he did not seem to settle
down at all comfortably; and one
morning, as the family We're assembled
at breakfast, what was their sur
prise to see Spot walk calmly in, with
an air of the utmost assurance, and lie
quietly down, with n sigh of content
ment, upon q favorite black mat of his
in front Of one of the French windows.
He was tired and rather shabby look
ing, but quite composed and self con
tanned, showing no ELUSIVE excite
ment, but q sort of calm satisfaction,
which was quite u eloquent i N its way.
At first it was supposed that the dogs
master must be IN the road, as it was
considered impossible that the dog
could have crossed the water alone; but
no master came, only q letter an
nouncing the loss of Spot. Partly out
of curiosity, I believe Though it
seemed rather a shame, 1 thought,
poor Spot was sent back to Dublin.
But what q dog can do once, he can do
again, and very soon he was back in
his old home, from which no further
attempt was made to move him. 1t
was then l made his acquaintance and
though | never witnessed any facts Of
extraordinary sagacity, he always had
the air and manner of n very wide
awake and intelligent dog. he had
odd likes and dislikes among the
horses, with whom he spent most of
his time. There were some among
them with whom he positively de-
clined to run, whoever rode or drove
them, while it was a perfect delight to
go with others. Altogether he was a
curious dog, and decidedly an original.
-Cassells Magazine.