St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-05-21
A PROMISING SPANIEL.
Leo Catches a Thief. Opens Door
and Sings, and He Is Still

Leo Catches Thief. Opens Door
and Sings, and He Is Still
Young.
New York Sun.
An ambitious and energetic young
spaniel is Leo, the pet of the police at
the Prince street station. He is about
two years old, and recognizes Sergeant
Mcnamara as his master, although he
yields friendly obedience to all the
other officers attached to the station.
This is the dog which captured a booty
laden thief on Wooster street a few
evenings ago and held onto him until a
patrolman, who couldn't run as fast as
Leo. came up and took the prisoner in.
Leo couldn't put ON the handouts. and
so the man got the formal credit of the
arrest.
Leo is not patrol dog. and this is
his first exploit as a neophyte on the
force. Most of his excursions in the
streets are taken when his master, in
0ff-hours, strolls out to hear the merry
brook a-gurgling, if any may be found,
and listen to the merry village chime in
Greenwich or elsewhere. Leo's educa-
ton is being looked after by Frank
Moratti, an employe at the station
house, and after time the dog may be
promoted to regular situation Oh the
staff. He has handsome chain
collar with silver plate, on which
Sergeant Mcnamara intends presently
to inscribe the dogs name and station.
Leo has two specialties now beside
the catching of thieves. He opens the
door of the station by himself when he
is outside and wants to come in. He
l., Of, n bnod
across the street and leaping violently
against the door. 1t opens inward, be-
ing held in place by a stout spring. Il
yields readily to Leo's spring, and the
dog lands in a sprawling heap on the
floor Leo hasn't yet got it out Of his
head that he can open the door by the
same process when he wants to go out.
Consequently he now and again starts
from the further side of the main Office.
runs full tilt against the door, bumps
his shoulders and falls back upon the
floor discounted.
His best accomplishment, however. is
his singing. In training the dogs voice
Prof Moratti has brought to bear all his
native knowledge of the Italian method.
The results are plainly seen in Leo'S
style. There is none of your phiegmatic
German defamation in his work, but
an earnest, inspiring and meloGlc
howl, varied here and there by short
staccato yelps on very high notes. Leo
realizes the merit of his performance 50
keenIy thatsof late he has positively re-
fused to sing unless there be an au-
dience present. Then he springs into a
chair and sits down, and Prof. Moratti
sits in chair beside him. When the re-
porter was present the professor played
''Fritz" Emmett's "Cookoe'' song on a
harmonica, and Leo put in canine
obligato. He put his head straight up
in the air and howled. All the friski
ness of his private life departed; his
tail did not wag or his body vibrate
with the joy of young life. His only
motion was an expressive swaying of
his nose and an occasional closing of his
eyes as he reached for some especially
effective note. An unresponsive spec
tator would have said that Leo was un-
happy, but Moratti declares that on such
occasions the dogs attitude simply in
dictates intense emotional earnestnesS.
AT any rate, it is bretty good singing
for dog,