The daily morning journal and courier., 1907-03-04
THE HOMELESS DOG.
His Hard Lot Adrift in the Streets Q


 the City-The Dog and the Girl
 "It is flattering to be followed by a homeless dog" said MT. Gwillping, but sometimes little annoying.
 You meet, as you are going along the street, a thin, i'll fed and most like Fly hungry dog. weak and dropping and craving frlendllness, and when you come along and he looks up and seems to single you out as one likely to be kind to him, and starts at a respectful distance to follow, why that is sort of flattering.
 But when after you have gone along Ihalf block or so and you turn to see if he is still following, you see him still there, halting when you do and throw ing up his head and one foot, keeping his distance and fearful now that he vii be repulsed; and when starting on again you are conscious that he has started on again, too, after you; and when crossing the street, you know that he has dropped down from the curb and is crossing in your track and reaching and opening your door you find that the homeless dog has closed up near to you and wants to go in with you where it is warm, why. he becomes a little annoying and you cloe" the door in his face.
 Tt is a way that homeless dogs have, this of following people in the street, and they may be prompted by intelli- gence in their selection, by an instinct that leads them to select those likely to sympathize with them, or perhaps they follow the first person that comes along that does not repel them.
 Yesterday in Warren street, 1 saw a homeless dog following young wo- man and one who was little more than a girl. She was a nice, pleasant faced, evidently kind hearted young woman, and this dog was a pretty good sized, short haired black dog, of good and naturally cheerful disposition and nor mally 3. strong, a pretty powerful dog, but now thin and weak and wabbly from lack of food.
 "They were coming up from North River way toward Broadway, the girl stepping along bristly and the dog talk ing long soft steps with it's long legs, following silently and decorously, weaving in and out among the people on the walk to keep out of the peoples way and to keep up With her. He was- nit downcast and forlorn; weak as he was he persevcred as far as his condi- tion would permit his inborn cheerful ness, but he wanted to find friend and something in this young girls ap- pearance had appealed to him, and he was soft footing along after her, not snoakingly, but openly, though respect fully, perhaps because he liked her be- cause she had appealed to him in the crowd, and perhaps because he had a vague idea that some good would come out of it for him.
 And she knew the dog was follow ing her and had paid no attention to it; but when, coming so, along the south side of Warren, they had got pretty nearly up to Broadway she turned on the dog and held up her hand to him warningly for him to stop. And the deg stopped at that; but her motion wasn't imperative, and she look ed kindly as she made it, and when, as she now did, she stepped down from the curb to cross the street around the new building on the north corner of her way up Broadway the dog started to follow, of which fact she was aware.
 "But she couldn't have that dog fol- lowing her up Broadway, and now promptly she turned again, and this time, with not a kindly, but still duly significant face and firm motion of her hand she lifted up her huff against him, and without crimging, with even a little friendly wagging of his wabby tail, tho dog obeyed and stopped right where he was on the sidewalk.
 Having her eyes fixed upon her at the moment as he did, he took no note of the passersoy; and now he had to lift his head well up so that it would clear a man who was brushing past him, and when he got it down again the girl was gone. And then he started back the way he had come, down War ren this time in his wabby way to be- gin again his search for a friendly face in the crowd.
 Hard, indeed, is the lot of the homeless dog.' New York Times.
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