Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1899-03-30
LONGEVITY IN DOGS.
Nine Years the Limit of the Average
Bench Show Career ln
This Country.

Dogs in this country seem to have a
shorter span of life than their relatives
of England, according to our experts
who have passed an opinion on some
notes recently published in the Field
London, on longevity in the canine
breeds. The notes contained many at.
tested accounts of dogs ranging from
IA to 25 years of age, but perhapS the
most interesting was the following
statement by Harold Leeney, NJ. Il. c.
V. S.:
"The oldest dog have ever known
was a collie belonging to Lord ogilvie
He died at my infrmary from a com
pound fracture of the femur, having
been run over by butchers cart, at
the age Of 30, was instructed to have
his name and age inscribed upon the
coffin in which he was sent to Scotland
to be buried, The next Oldest dog was
10 years, and nurse was kept on pur-
pose to attend him. He had a bron-
chitis kettle in, his room and u fire all
the year round, and wore red flannel
| drawers, besides the usual dog cloth
ing. He was literally sans eyes, sans
teeth, sans everything and was fed
on beef tea and the softest of pud-
dings, without any plums, was the dish
of all others that suited his gums"
"The average age of the dog in this
country" said James Mortimer, super
intendent of the Westminster Kennel
club show since 1884, ''is from ten to
twelve years. while / believe the ex-
ceptional limit to be 20 years. Within
the last four months lost by death a
smooth fox terrier that was whelped
in 1882, and consequently over 16 years
old. At Kansas City, during the last
bench show held there, a man brought
to the exhibition an old and active Eng
fish setter for his friends to see. He
said it was 90 years old and had been
shot over at birds every season since its
puppyhood, A friend in this city owns
wire-coated fox terrier he calls Gypsy,
that is nearly 16 years old and stin
lively The sire. by the way, was Tyke
imported to this country by j. f. L.
Granger, and exhibited at our shows
along in the sos. lie was the first wire
coated fox terrier ever shown in this
city, and lived to very old age, so that
Gypsy may inherit his vitality. An
other old dog is an Irish setter owned
by Fred a. Hodgman, of Tuckahoe.
''Tt would be interesting to obtain
definite data in this country on the sub
iect of canine longevity. I think that
few dogs of extreme old age would be
discovered, many of them mongrels,
that have been carefully nursed along
by their owners for aud lang syne.
In the same way there is an old dog OF
two in or about every kennel of thor
oughbred CANNES, but, with the posi-
BILE exception Of field dogs and fox ter.
riers, l do not think hotblooded dogs
of long pedigree live as long here as in
England"
One reason why the dogs of blue
blood and ancient lineage do not thrive
here, perhaps, is that they are sent
through the bench show circuit before
they have had a chance to Become ac-
climated, A number of experts hold
this opinion. At the New York show it
is not unusual for dog to go from the
steamer dock to the bench, as the
mastilT Black Peter did last year. An
instance of the evil consequences of
sending a dog ON long journey and
showing him at once occurred in 1896,
when Beauforts Black Prince was sent
to England, and. after beating all the
mastiffs there but Peter Piper; sudden
ly sickened and died before he had
been in the country six months. Beau
forts Black Prince was not born until
1890 and died young dog. The acct
dents of travel ON tie railroads in maxi
ing the show circuit and sicknesses,
particularly lung fever, contracted
from riding in overheated express cars,
are further causes that lead to- an early
death among prize CANNES, Returning
from southern show two years ago
batch of highly bred dogs owned in
New York were smothered in their
crates, and similar accidents are often
reported. although the express COM
panies do all that they cam to insure
safe transit. Once fully acclimated,
however, bar accidents, the imported
dogs usually live to- a green old age
n. Y. Sun.