Wichita eagle., 1888-03-11
THE BURGLARS ENEMY,
Well-Bred Dogs Invaluable as
Household Protectors.

How tho Silent Bull-Terrier Greets the
Midnight Thief and Assassin-Ca-
nine Burglar Alarms That Arc
Always Ready for Work.
81 do not train dogs to watch for burg.
lars" said fancier to Providence, (R Il.
- Journal reporter, 'but some Of them
that are well bred are led to do it by their
natural sagacity and force of character.
They may not perform the duty with the
| desperate energy that is shown by the
| Witty brown cur with the long tail and
the black patch over his eye, but they
will do il we'll enough to answer every
rsas on able expectation.
''The bull-terrier you see there now,
weighing about thirty five pounds, with
tie undershot aw and ugly enough to be
| put in the chamber of horrors anywhere,
might be wide awake when a robber is
squeezing his body through the pantry
! window, but he would make no effort to
stop the mans entry, but once in the Eel.
| low would have hard work TO get out
| again.
sit is not easy to see what the bull ter.
rier will do with the prisoner when he
has him at his raercy. 1t depends large.
| ly upon the animals previous general
| mot specially training. Certainly the
man will have no voice in the matter I'M.
less he bowls to the inmates Of the house
| for protection, which is really the wisest
course he could take, though he seldom
| chooses it.
ga personal encounter, hand to tooth,
would be forlorn hope, indeed, an d this
| possession of pistol gives fewer advan-
tages than you might think. The draw
| ing of the weapon would precipitate the
! conflict The buil-terrier is brute hard
to kill, and mere wound only adds to its
ferocity. Then, the combatants are too
close together to allow Of the effective U.s.
of revolver, and throat grip which
the dog may get at once, and is always
sure to secure in few seconds, will very
quickly place the robber where pistol.
though it probably would be discharged
before the trigger was pulled, will do him
no good.
"The dog is not going to disturb the
family. He is sentinel who can watch
without making every body else watch,
too. Daylight, he thinks, will be quit
~ enough for those to whom he owe
allegiance to inquire into the merits Oh
the case, and the only serious question
take his proper place in the invest igation?
Or, in other words, returning to the
original PROPOSE ion, what is the bull
terrier going to do with him?
81 know of three cases in wkick di
tinct ans wsrs were given to that question
The head Of a family was warned by his
butler that he had noticed some sus-
picious-l shocking man prowling about the
>f III fell
suggest that the siIverware be sent to the
vaults of a safe deposit. This advice was
given after business hours. but the gentle.
man determined to avail himself of it on
the following day. Meanwhile he Dor.
rowed big. unamiable bull-t.rrer from
the butcher, and neglected to mention the
fact to the butler.
"Nobody in the upper regions of the
house was disturbed that night, for the
work down stairs was done in silence.
The next morning the body of the dead
butler was found lying on the floor of the
pantry. with the dog crouching beside it
The mans throat wa torn out, and some
of the family jswelry was in his pockets.
The siverware was placed so that, had
he not been interrupted he could have
quickly and easily handed it to his con.
federate, whose footprints were stamped
upon the clay beneath the window. He
warned his master in order to prevent
suspicion from falling upon himself, but
had not taken the bul.terrier into his
calcui ations.
"Then [ knew an 'old LAWYER who was
aroused before day break by rOars for
help in the hall and, going down stairs,
found burglar sitting on a marbl Vet op
table and fierce-eved bull terrier, that a
friend of mine had given him as n fee for
defending a lawsuit, gazing at him from
the floor.
mo watch dog is Of the sli ghtest use to
lady. If he barks and arouses her she |
IS far more terrified than the thieves, and |
Zen he does his work silently he is not |
f. 'ocial companion she cares to have in
~ boudoir. She has stated her needs to |
me often enough when she came to pur-
chase a pet. What she wants is a soft, !
silky little fellow, who will sleep as |
soundlv as she does herself and not pro- |
woke the b urg!ars by making any unseen. !
ly disturbance.
"But for persons who would rather risk |
an encounter with thieves than loose their |
goods a welI-bred, rough-haired terrier, |
weighing about twelve pounds, makes a |
capital house protector. He is likely to |
be full of intelligence, and will not give |
an alarm without cause. If he bears a /
noise, he will thoroughly investigate it .
before he barks. No passing footsteps, no |
wind-rattled shutters-in fact, nothing |
but an absolute attempt to get feoniously |
in TO the house will induce him to arouse
tn inmates.
off his suspicious are awakened, he will !
go very quietly from door to door, and |
from window to window, shifting quietly |
at each, and ascertain the exact state Of
affairs. Then, if his voice is heard, it is
time for every body to get up. The robbers
will Ger tainly run away when they hear
him, but if there is any unplea sa ntness'
the dog may be trusted to do his full share
of the work, though he could not UNDER
take it alone. Such q dog should never be
allowed to fratsrnze with strangers. or
to take food from unaccustomed hands,
though probably his disposition will not
lead him to do so; but poisoned meat sur
reptItiously thrown over the fence is .
great aid to burglars
-------------------
An Old But True Story.
II is an old story about the store sign
that advises people not to go further and
be robbed, but the average newspaper