Evening journal., 1897-07-23
PARK GUARD AND DOG.
The Officer Made a Spectacle
Of Himself Last Night.
he STRUCK THE WRONG MAN

He STRUCK THE WRONG MAN
THEN STARTED TO DRAW A RE-
vOIvER AND SHOOT A VALU-
ABLE FOX TERRIER WITHIN A
FEW FEET OF TWO WOMEN AND
A SMALL CHILD.
A West Side woman. who lives within
a few squares Of Tenth Street Park, and
who is the owner of Two thoroughbred
fox-terriers, worth from $75 to 800
apiece. was in the park ,ast night Civ
ing her pets a run. IL w2s between 8
and 9 o'clock. While she was standing
near one Of the ponds conversing with
friends and neighboIs, whom she
chanced to meet one of her dogs went
into the water for a bath. She went on
talking not needing the animal which
was dispOrting itself in the shallow
pond.
The night park guard strolled along.
and, seeing the eddy in the walters,
walked over to the edge and called TO
the dog to come out. The animal,
which seldom gets an outing of the
kind, paid no attention TO the guard,
who put his hand in his hip-pocket as
though to draw a revolver, notwith-
standing the fact that two women and a
baby were within six feet Of him.
A man who was standing near ad-
vised him not to act rashly. and the
guard, thinking, he had found another
victim. turned on him and cold him ne
ought rot let his dogs go in the water.
The man had no interest in the dog,
other than general one, and cOnse-
qucntly paid no attention to the guard
until he walked over to within foot or
two of him. still demonstrating. and
then he told the officer that he did not
care to be addressed In that manner as
he was not the owner of the dog. The
guard walked back to the edge OF the
pond and struck at the dog with his
stick. The dog made a spring towards
the guard, and again that functiOnary
placed his hand in his hip-pocket as
though he intended to shoot the ami
NAL. All this lime the woman who
owned the dog, and who is Of such a re-
tiring disposition that she is seldom
thrown in contact with such persons
was too paralyzed with fear for her pets
to say a word. Finally she recovered
herself TO call her dog from the watei
and then hurriedly left the park anC
went hcme.
Il have orders to shoot every dog
see in the water" said the guard to thl
man whom he had previously ad
dressed.
''Who gave you those orders. tn
Park Commissioners or the Water Com
missioners?" asked the man.
THE Water Commissioners replie
the guard
"Well. It is a brutal order" said tn
= visitor, "and ought to be ripped up Tn
back in the newspapers. There is n
fence around the park to keep The dos
o of the premises. and there is no FEM
8 ing around the ponds to keep the dog
e out of the water. Nothing is more nat
d ural than that dog should seek waite
during the heated term. and the Wate
+, Commission has no right to set up a
= unfenced park and unfenced ponds an
{ Then shoot dogs for merely following q
e instinct which is born in them. Beside
3 there is nothing in the ponds that dos
I can hurt. They stir up the water SOM
q but it settles as soon as they leave it,
r They scare the fish" said the par
guard. 'While / have orders to shOg
% all dogs found in the water / never d
e IT, j do not want to shoot them.
( don't mind little dogs, but big on'
= lcome here too"
k But II you have orders to that e
S feet it is your duty to shoot them, an
+ 1t is the Water Commission which
y subjecting itself TO criticism and lii
bility for its execution. There are vall
II able dogs all around this neighbo
j. hood which are liable to go in the wat'
d at any time in the absence Of the
owners. l think The public should ?
advised as to the existence Of such q
a inhuman order
/. "Oh. ! wouldn't say anything abo
it, suggested the guard. Il don't wal
to kill anybody's dos"
II He was so anxious over the malt
n that he followed the visitor to the Pal
Place side of the park, explaining
.s he went.
4 last Summer one of the day guar
~ told an Evening Journal reporter th
v in June. July and August dogs OF
T. kinds and sizes came to the ponds fro
! all over the West Side of the city to fiji
\ relief from the heat in the waters Of q
= two open ponds He said that tn
never did any damage, and that to q
,e best of his knowledge they had nev
Ne injured a fish.