Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-07-23
PLEA FOR THE CUR DOG.
ONE OF Low DEGREE THAT Is A
GENTLEMAN AMONG DOGS.

o Il wonder. said a New York gentle
e man whose love for dogs of all kinds
:, but chiefly for those that nobody els,
y seems to care for, makes him rather un
+ popular in his neighborhood, what con
: stitutes a well bred dog? l don't mear
from the fancier's and breeders point Of
view. We all know that the long haired
2 silky Skye, the smooth, bright eyed
black and tan and the aesthetic York
shire are supposed to be born in the
purple and have nothing in common
with the yellow and white creature with
a black badge of demerit over one eve
the animal we call cur.
''But what would the dogs themselves
have TO say about it if they could speak!
They ought to be the best judges, and
their opinions, so far as l can gather
them by watching their actions and bear
ing toward each other, do not corrobo-
rate human sporting sentiment in the
matter at all. The question l want to
hear fairly answered is: Which is the
| gentleman and which is the blackguard
among dogs?
'YOu see this dog beside me, and no
doubt you wonder, as all my friends do,
why l keep such a cur in the house.
Well, | keep him because l believe him
to be canine gentleman. Appearances
| are certainly against him, but | have
seen gentlemen with ugly faces and I'M
gainly figures, shabbily clothed, before
now.
Can he fight? you ask. So far as his
nxT-T o1 4
he would rather run ten miles than fight
for ten seconds. but if an ability and a
willingness to fight are necessary quail
ticatlons for a gentleman, then John L.
Sullivan's name should stand high on
Ward McAllister's scroll of social fame. |
THE BUTCHERS DOG.
"Can he hunt rats? | allowed one to |
escape from trap under his nose a few
days ago, and he wanted to play with it.
He will harm no living thing, and in
that sweetness of disposition, hold, lies
his chief claim to the rank of gentle
man.
'Of course, l don't expect sporting
men to agree with Inc, but that all the
dogs in the neighborhOod share my opin-
ion about him is plainly indicated by
his extreme popularity among his kind.
Being utterly unsuspicious he is frankly
fearless of them all, and only once have
l seen his trust betrayed That was
when the butchers bulldog (an animal
that is called well bred, though he is
brutal in appearance and disposition)
seized him, without particle of provo
cation, and would have killed him if the
had not interfered with the
cleaver.
''DO you suppose that Lazarus that is
ny dogs name) harbored any malice
against that ugly, vicious beast? Not an
itom. As soon as the first soreness of
he attack had, in some measure, abated.
le trotted back to the big dog without 5
he slightest appearance of distrnst, and, :
suppose, in his guileless way, reasoned
With him. His gentle nature prevailed, /
nd he has, in great measure, refined L
hat rough savage character. I
''They are good friends now, and the
ulldog shows certain subserviency to-
Yard Lazarus, and when he is present
NIL refrain from exercising his great =
eeth upon the flesh of any other dog. ;,
TWO DOGS COMPARED. :.
81 have no doubt at all that he recog- - =
lied the true canine gentleman in ;,
inctively and bowed before him. That l. l.
g did not detect it before it was almost =
20 late was due to the well known in a.
llectual dullness of the bulldog, whose 81
nall modicum of brains is usually car -
ed in his fangs. All the other dogs de- ~
T to him at the first meeting, and
ough, marketably speaking, he is "a
If of low degree he has become the
lide, philosopher and friend of every TT
limal around US whose friendship is
Orth having. And if you imagine for
that they have been mistaken
choosing such a leader you know very of
tie about canine intelligence co
''NOw, look at that self satisfied fel- liz
W taking a sun bath in the garden
2 is said to be pure Dandy Dinmont, A
ough he is a little too large to have
Ell what the dealers call finely bred ce
t even from their point of view he is Nj
ne the worse for that. That dog cost ON
7entyfive dollars when he was pup, Ell
d have been told he is worth $3.50 orr
W. But, though l won't sell him, | go
We no affection for him, because he is Ca
gentleman. He is quarrelsome, sol
thout much power to fight his own Bit
tiles, and he is intensely greedy and
fish. He growls all the time he is
ing a meal, just with the general pol
nciple of deterring any animal within 'io
sound of his voice from trying to ,i''
ire it with him. lie',
why, if the cat wants to eat off the ~ "a,
te with Lazarus, she is always wei ~. ~.
ne to share of the food, or even to AZ w.
of it if she is in a particularly grasp .na .ao
mood. Now, which of those two VI"
IS is the blackguard and which the IT
tleman? Let the dogs speak and the con
lers hold their tongues. New York oftl
;order. -