Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1902-09-06
l SPUNK DEVELOPED

| oSSSi VI q ucS the 10
man in the rear seat of the 14th street car.
| I'm the owner of dog whose whole ma
ture and temperament have been revolution
| lied by two months contact with black
man, and I'd like to know just what the
graft, so to speak, of the black man is in
his handling of dogs, so that in case my
mutt ever backslides I'll be able to brace
| him UP again in accordance with the black
| mans method.
This mutt Of mine that I'm speaking OF
| is fox terrier, and he's about two years
| old. I've raised him from a two-weeks-old
/ pup. He's nice, clean, handsome dog, and
! I'd be afraid to name in dollars the enor-
| nous value that my wife attaches to him.
| but all the same, that dog was an aWfu!
| disappointment to me up to within the past
| week or
| why? Well because he didn't appear to
| have any spunk. He wouldn't fight he
! wouldn't even get his dander up. He
wouldn't show me how cute he could raise
| the hair on his spine and look mad and
| vicious. 1t was sorrowful blow to me
when first found out that that dog had no
| grit, as did find it out even before he d
| got anything like his full growth. He'd
| four-fiush around with his tail up and a
| cheerful look in his eye as long no dam
| ger impended. but just as soon as he saw
| that another dog that he met up with was
| even a teenchy little bit on the fight that
| terrier Of mine would begin to look as If
| four or five hired men had been trying to
| beat him to death with hoes. His tail I'D
go down, and his ears would flop abjectly
| back on his head, and he'd crouch and
crawl along in a manner that made me sore
| all over. He grew into a muscular and
| well-alled-out mutt, capable Of putting up
| any Old Kind of a scrap with dog of his
weight II he'd had the pluck but the truth
was that he didn't have any more sand
than caterpillar. My wife considered that
| this was an admirable trait in the dog. and
mo tod fn hoy q hat on raH
| bully of a dog for a household pet that 'ud
| be biting the heads off Of smaller dogs in
| the neighborhood and chasing cats and
| finally getting himself poisoned by a re-
vengeful neighbor.
Nope, / told her, didn't want any such
animal as that around my premises. but
did want dog that wouldn't crawl through
the fence every time he saw a poor little
measley half-starved yaller dog a-comin'
down the block. 1 don't think any man
likes to have dog on his staff that won't
give trouble little bit of a hug, anyhow.
when it comes his way. I tried to throw a
little shame into that dog, but 1 couldn't
get away with-there was no shame in him.
L came pretty near souring on him for good
and all when, last spring, he permitted a
common, shopping little runt of a black
and-tan dog to hop him, one evening when
had him out for walk, and nail him to
an alley fence and give him all kinds of
sass and back talk in the canine language.
Nary move did that terrier of mine make
to put up his maulies and make little
sparring match of it, and he didn't even
show his teeth He just took that miser-
able black-and-tan's slack without word.
until felt like going up to him and kick
ing him.
We'll, when we left Washington early in
July for a two months trip, we had to hunt
up somebody to take care of the mutt dur
ing our absence. My wife was for having
him taken to a regular dog doctors board
ing house, where the mutt would be PAM
pered and coddled, but l couldn't see that
in hn lran, Niv,sr g.,
black man who has sort of dog boarding
place up on t street. The dog looked very
AFFECT when l took him to the black man.
He appeared to understand that he was go
ing to be deserted by his family for a
spell, and his tail was way down and he
looked like he hadn't friend on earth.
Look lax he all hain't got much spunk
said the black man to me.
That's a grand guess of yours said 1
to the colored man. That dog hasn't got
enough sand in his craw to keep him awake
and he'd let himself be kicked to death by
a pair of rabbits or guinea p gs rather than
put UP bit of a scrap for what was COM
ing to him. He's been spoiled by his mis-
tress and so far as being regular doggy
dog Is concerned he's no account
'Ah'll fix him out all right said the
black man. 'Yo' all II have a diffuhent
dawg Wen yo all gifts back, sub
i told the black man to go ahead and do
anything he knew how to spunk the mutt
up some. although 1 Gidn't have much hope
for the dog. thought he was too Old ever
to have his spine stiffened.
Well, we returned to town one morning
last week. and my wife sent me over to the
black mans place the first thing to get the
dog. Somehow or another that dog looked
different to me when l caught sight of him
running around the black mans front yard.
He had a certain air of confidence about
him that I'd never seen before.
Now yo' airs got whut yo' kin call uh
scarborough dawg. sub" said the black
man in turning the mutt over to me- was
n al hi,,,o
tons and SO just whistled to the dog and
started home with him, letting him tag
along after me.
I'VE hadn't gone a block before another
and much larger fox terrier belonging in
the neighborhood. came prancing up to my
dog to look him over and investigate him
generally. My dog stood stock STILL and for
the first time l all the hair along the
whole length of his spine go straight up
He didn't appear to be hunting for any
trouble. but when that other dog gave ut
terance to just one short, low growl my dog
hoped him, and he hoped him right, at
that. He got the other dog down and was
beginning to swab UP the block with him
when yanked him off by his collar / had
all could 90 to pull him along with me-
and he seemed bound to break my hold on
his collar and go back and make a meal of
that dog that had had the gall to growl at
him.
When I had dragged him a couple of
squares l turned him loose again, and he
hadn't been loose more than a minute be-
fore big, good-natured collie raced up to
him and started in to try to play with him
My dog apparently thought, or pretended
to think, that the colies freshness in
jumping Up in the air meant fight for he
grabbed the collie's right front paw like
flash and held on to it until I gave him
whack on the ribs and yanked him loose
And that's the way it was all the way
home. He tackled any old thing on four
legs that he saw after any sort of demon
stration of hostility had been made. and
he chased about half dozen wicked-Iook-
ing old cats up the sides of trees
Now, instead of slouching off when he
sees another dog, he sits perkily on the
front steps and waits for challengers TO
come along. and then he races out on the
streets and gives them battle. He's al
ready got his left ear pretty wei chewed
and he's going to get a powerful hard
trouncing one Of these days when he goes
up against the wrong proposition. but, all
in all. I'm bound to admit that I'm COM
mon and onnery enough to like that dog a
whole lot better since he's shown me that
he Is able to do something else besides eat
chocolate creams out Of my wife's hand
I took him riding alongside of me in the
buggy the other afternoon. and when
pulled the buggy up to talk to a friend
that dog hoped out and tackled and licked