Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1894-04-19
DOGS THAT LIKE 10 WORK,
Belgian Animals Worth so Able to
Draw Hundreds Of Pounds Weight

1t is very curious spectacle to n
stranger who visits the city OF Rrus
sells for the first time TO srr IN the
morning iunumerahlc small vehicles
loaded with fruit and vegetables arriv
Ing at the market drawn by dogs,
whose good-naturcd barking proves
not cnly that they experience no ia
tiSur but. on the contrary. genuine
enjoyment, says contributor ~ the
FWnch paper, Nature, II is not only
the kitchen gardeners and peasants
coming TO the city that make use OF
this sort Of haulagr, for the butchers.
the bakers, the coal dealers and the
mlkmeu have no other means ot car
riagr in order to serve their customers,
AS a general thing, each cart Is drawn
by but one dog, but there may be
several The dog thus employed ut
Brussels and its vicinity for the trac.
tiou of small NchiclcS is Il strong and
broad backed mastitr, moro squat than
Il large Dane or German mastitt,
generally of II duh tawn color or more
or less black spotted with white. and
with a somewhat short haired and
rough coat, However, the Rrahant
peasants do not appear to stick 10
one type OF breed with fixed conforma-
tion color and length of hair, provid.
cd he is strong and energetic, that Is
all they require of their strcd with
claws and fangs Good specimens are
sold at from $50 to So. In the course
of service these dogs are fed upon
bread and horse meat, and their main
tcnance cost about II cent n day. The
dead weight that they haul Is, on the
average, $50 pounds Bulldogs haul
n much greater weight,
These dogs are very Jealous, and
perform their duty with us much pleas.
ure as hunting dogs do in following
the trail Of game. An exercise which
we'll exhibits their qualities and shows
the degree of emulation with which
they are endowed Is that of the races
that frequently take place as n conse-
qucncc of challenges made by their
! owners. The race course Is Il highway
and the goal Is ut n distance of one
or two miles. All passers-by can en-
! JOY the spectacle gratis. The com
pctitors place themselves In line, and
the Impotence of the courscrS, which
IS manifested by voice and action, can
be moderated only by vigorous appli.
cations of the whip. Finally, the sig.
nal is given and they start Off at full
speed with loud harkings. Falls arc
| frequent and the drivers often literally
! bite the dust, but the automatons In
short blouse are quickly picked up
and put back In their carts, exciting
anew their vigorous stceds. ana those
that have the oftencst fallen are not
for that reason the last to reach the
goal. The swiftness of team o.
/ dogs Is such that bets on speed have
been made on good horse harnessed
to II cab against one of these teams
ana been won by the latter.
/ The Bclgians say that n good draft
dog costs less to keep and sells ut n
/ lower price than an ordinary ass,
while ut the same time doing as much
work 1t Is quite curious to find that
among civilized countries Belgium Is
about the only one that exhibits To us
the common spectacle of dogs In har
ness Why Is II ropugnant to people
in other countries? In reality, Is the
fact Of putting n strong and vigorous
animal, sufficiently fed and trained,
I'm the thills Of small vehicle and Of
imposing upon him a tractivc stress
proportional to his muscular power,
so shocking In itself? Is II Of n nature
to give disagreeablc impression 10
I the most sensitive OF the members Of
the society for the Prevention Of Cru
city to Animals? Why does n dog
properly harnesscd to small vehicle
adapted to his size shock Ms more than
an ass or a mule working under the
same conditions?