The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-27
DICK. THE COMPOSITE DOG.
A FoNDERFUL MIXTURE OF Po0DIIt
SETTER, AND NEWFOUNDLAND


HIs Poodle Head was bravo as Yes Pieasa.
hut MS softer Hind legs We're towards ara
Ran 80 Hard They Took the whole Dog
AionE-How Ho Could swim ana Eat.
"I ncvor owned but one dog that I felt tempted
to enter Mt u bench show" said the observahu
Jerseyman, "but that one was a marvel. He H.
dcad now, the result OF his own imprudence. but
his memory will linger with me always, and ]
doubt II no will ever DO forgotten By any one
who over saw him.
Tho thing which would have bothered me re
/ had intended to exhibit him would have been
10 determine tho class under which to cnteg
him. Not that I wish you to infor that thogo
was any question as to his breed. II n person
who traced his pedigree from the Biddles OF
Philadelphia, tho Schuylers of New York, and
the winthrops Of Boston can claim aristocyacy.
then my dog was ono Of the most aristocratyn Of
CANNES. There was not q drop of anythipG auo
blue blood in his veins. His mother va
pure-blooded Dutch poodle, and his father. Don
Pedro. was tho. progeny of a pure'blooded
Newfoundland sire and q mother whose name
Is recorded among those OF high.bred black
and tan settlers. The remarkable thing about
this dog was tho manner in which the physical
and mental traits Of his royal ancestry were
mixed in him. and yet not blended. He would
have offered to breeders a most wonderful sub.
ject Of speculation, and to biologists a proof pos
tive as to the development Of varied forms
from the type OF species.
Dom Pedro, the father. was born in Cuba,
and l got him about as soon as his eyes were
opened. When he was about IL years old. and
had reached the age of usefulness and discretion,
my family were living at Asbury Park, and one
day late In tho summer Pedro brought home
n wife. She was q big. handsome Dutch poodle
that had been lost or deserted by some city fam
lily. Dom Pedro found her sitting disconsolately
upon the stoop of o deserted cottage. He began
his wooing at once. and before night he had
gained her affections. and she accompanied him
to his homo. He shared his bed and his meals
with her. and wag' as attentive to her as Q
lover should DO, until her puppies were born. He
Immediately took a violent dislike to the pups
and deserted his mate. and when the pups were
big enough. to care for themselves the poodle
went away in disgust.
-Four Of tho puppies lived and grew. Two
were all white and just alike, and two were all
black and like twins. The white ones were given
away and the black twins we kept, intending to
raise them together. but one was soon stolen.
Tom ana Dick we called them. Dick was the one
left to us, The next summer we moved to the
banks Of the Shrewsbury, and Dick grew up
there. AS he grew his traits developed.
1T is customary in animals of mixed blood to
trace the admixture by the blended character.
istics. The dam may give size and form. for
instance, and the sire color and disposition.
DICK developed all the marked peculiarities Of
his three lines of ancestry, but each trait was
exhibited in a different part of his body. His
Head was that Of the poodle, and women who
parted the long silky hair which fell over his
face and looked into his soft brown eyes ex-
claimed: oh, the dear. dear creature!' Men
looked at his misfit legs and declared that ho
was the ugliest brute they ever saw.
Hi hair was as varied as were his ancestors.
Tho nrar ala fam traI 1tHA htn rnathnH'a TrN-,
just back OF his ears down over the shoulders it
was soft and glossy, long and curly; .pt free
Dom Pedro's. From the shoulders back he was
covered with a mass of matted poodle wool.
Newfoundland. properly, feduced in size to at
his head, but his hind legs were those ot
fas ' We're COG sevea saS With Sf run the size s%etts n:
heir hIir and = i all his nsd fss, We're u big TAI and I,f fuzzy K. ws hass
|. white tip. His color was Black. WITH just The
sadns shoul HeSs pointed 90 Saai in the fs' affection ire afa h he n Sas
going. but from his shoulders back his body
sl,aif isss At srsvs shsdP IN a a ilsc K s ses F,f fhs, a of he BE
front legs, His tail stood up stitiy at an angle
of ! fsS,s,a Msrs sf tsc ess s ! Rlo p s sG Tie l Ct Dick.
HI HI , Sss e5n " b for b lsstrn Sna 1 f16p his iss sravffT r, w Sn9
one approach whom he doubted. ana he opened
upon them with q bark that evidently was in
carry him forward, but his hind legs were
arrant towards. Being double the size
| and strength OF the front ones, they DOM
mated. and. although the head kept pointed 40
the intruder. the hind legs prevailed at each
the house Dick had thus been carried clear
there he would stand. his hind toes just Clutch
"His head. too. had great discretion in the
matter of food, but his body was possessed of an
appetite which forced him to eat vast quaint.
ties and the most undesirable qualities that led
This dog was the mos; remarkable swimmer
I ever saw. He would follow a boat for miles,
and one of his favori:e pastimes was TO follow
rowing, In the course of a row up the Shrews-
bury or i've miles from my house and back he
where the shores drew near the route Of the
boat Even at such times il Dick met q man on
, The shore N,%ss he seaS would ~ ,dp plunge liYa, in nS and swim to
round him on land. He also crossed the
river whenever he met with a steep bank or
OF less than 200 feet, and often more. His horror
of men when he was away from home was just
ing. and he ofton went all the way round a block
to syoid passing a group OF idlers on q sidewalk.
hurt"that is, those feelings that We're contained
in his head and shoulders, for the rest OF him
the family attempted with a few gentle doGgings
feet deep in the flower beds. After receiving
three whippings in one day for this offence, he
Jug u uOlc u NilOlncr q tHat was NOT IN use,
where he lay and sulked for three weeks. only
taking time enough away to eat.
His appetite was such that he ate rags,
paper, ami even old rubber shoes. My wife as
sures me that his father. Dom Pedro. had often
tried to break up this and some OF his Other bad
habits. but In vain. Dom Pedro was wise. In
Asbury Park he would not wear q muzEle. and
killing unmuzzled dogs. My wife told Pedro TO
beware of the guns, and 1t is a fact that, al
got a shot at him. He would eat no poisoned
meat, nor would he take food from a stranger.
Dick swallowed everything. and finally "A dose