Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-06-21
CANINE PAGER.
The Peculiar Attachment Of . Dog to
the Race Track

The Peculiar Attachment Of . Dog to
the Race Track.
"a pacing dog is . novelty in these
parts" says the Davenport Leader.
''and the people in the neighbor-
hood of the fair grounds are having
q whole lot of fun out of one that
has been training there of late. The
dog is named Don. and he is as true
PAGER as any horse that ever went
the fair ground track. Tuesday
evening q representative of the
Leader went out to the grounds to
see this wonderful animal perform.
The dog is a Gordon setter. and is as
intelligent a dog as you will run
across anywhere. He was bred and
raised on a farm near Atlantic, this
state. and is now p years old. The
farmer who raised the dog knew
nothing of his qualities, and conse-
auently he had no training whatever
until last years pacing season was
half over.
Charles Latin, the present
owner of the dog, who last year
lived at Atlantic, often saw the
farmer driving to town. and he no.
ticed the dog always following him.
No matter how fast the farmer would
drive. he would never break from q
pace. A bargain was soon struck up
and Mr.. Lahin secured the dog.
Even then he did not work him sys-
tcmaticaliy, but would put him on
the track as occasion would present
itself. He procured sulky, broke
him to drive and gave the manage
ment of him to his five-year-old
daughter, Edna.
A Fondness For the Race Course.
1.-The dog developed fondness for
the race course and can scent a race
from afar. When preparations are
being made he can hardly contain
himself. He knows where the wire
is. When he has passed the proper
distance behind the wire he keeps q
sharp eve On the horse that runs
with him in order that no advantage
be taken. He is a jockey himself
and when the start is made throws
himself into the race with all the
vim imaginable. taking to the pole
in order to get every fair advant-
age.
Last night Don paced with hob
bles. His first heat heat was without
a sulky. As usual, he could hardly
wait for the start. and before the
ponies that were to run with him
could be wheeled about. he had
ducked his head, wheeled about and
was off down the course at break
neck speed. Though he did not have
much of start, it was fully an
eighth of q mile before the ponies
could come anywhere near him. As
he reached the quarter pole he broke
for step or two, but gathered him.
self with all the quickness and grace
of any pacing horse. He came down
the stretch like an old stager, swing
ing himself under the wire like a
major. No sooner did he pass it
through. than he wheeled off and be-
came a good natured dog, wagging
his tail and brushing around from
one to another to receive their con-
gratulatious.
.His second heat was with q sulky
attached. His little driver, Edna,
is out in the country visiting her
grandma, and so he did the heat
without one. He was just as anx-
ious for the start as ever and made
the heat without single break.
1.-The dog is great favorite where
ever he goes, and though he has been
at the fair grounds but two or three
times. the whole neighborhood knows
him, and as soon as he nears the
grounds, people can be seen making
a rush from houses aud public places
to witness his performance"