The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-04-29

The toy dogs have never gained the footing here which they maintain in other countries, particularly in France, though some of the very small poodles are con- stant visitors to the shows. Japanese poodles are perhaps most favored. They were brought here fifty years ago by Commodore Perry when he returned from his expedition to Japan. Dogs are among the things which are indispensable as imperial presents, and among the gifts brought by Commodore Perry from the Mikado to the American President were four little Japanese poodles. They and their children were used as sleeve dogs and weighed scarcely two pounds. The cause for dogs being popular gifts among royal persons dates back, 1t is said, to the time of the Egyptian kings, who used the animals as tribute.
 General Lafayette sent the first St. Bernard dogs to America. When he came back here in 1924 he met J. F. Skinner, ex-assistant postmaster general who was at that time greatly interested in dogs. With the aid of General Lafayette he brought to America some excellent Span iels, and in 1880 General Lafayette sent him two big St. Bernards They were the first of their kind that America had seen, and the fad for them was instan- taneous The prices for big dogs of all
 
 as St. Bernards were established the puppies sold for several hundred dollars, and the full grown dogs were proportion- atey high-prlced. Now 1t is difficult to get fifty doll I:s for St. Bernard puppy, and a hundred dollars is a rare price to get for any of, the breed.
 When the fashionable American woman wants to take up a dog fad she adopts some particular breed, preferably a bull terrier or a collie prominent New York woman who makes a speciality of bulldogs, and who travels a great deal, had the head of her favorite bulldog painted on all her trunks as a sort of monogram In New York there is a young woman who paints only portraits of fashionable dogs She has a beauti- fully appointed studio, engagements for sttings are booked weeks ahead, and she finds making portraits of these canine aristocrats not only enjoyable but ex- ceedingly lucrative.
 While many new breeds have been pro duced during the past fifty years, fanciers claim that a perfect dog has never been seen anywhere. It Is difficult to under stand what the standard is, if a perfect one has never been produced, but the training of them will give the dog fan ciers something to do, and In the mean time every honest man wit ha clear con science will go on loving his own llttle dog, regardless of blemishes or dog show points.
 Examples of the intelligence of dogs are far too numerous for comprehensive mention, but one notable instance is that of "Old Calvin" the devout Presbyterian dog, which belonged to Hon. Gustavus A. Henry, whig orator and able lawyer of C1arksville, Tenn. Calvin had contract ed the churchgoing habit early in life, and went each Sunday to the Presby terian church for morning service. His piety abated not when his master died and ceased setting the excellent example, for Calvin went each Sunday morning and sat in the church aisle, listening at tentlvely to the sermon.
 Then an enterprisipg young preacher at tempted to introduce the Christian" faith into Clarksville On the Sunday when he was to preach in the new church Calvin worked his way through the crowd, seated himself on the right of the altar, and waited for the preacher to begin. The old dog was patient attention for some time, while the young enthusiast piled his hearers with Christian truths, but when the service was about half over, old Calvins ears dropped, and picking himself up from the altar, he walked ma jestically down the aisle, out the door and to the other church in time to hear the last of the Presbyterian service.
 One of the most famous dogs in the Uni ted States was Oney. a stray, who took up with the postal clerks some years ago. He was not particular what clerk he was with, or what car he was on just so it was a mail car with the men at work in 1t. The papers printed the story of the canine waif's strange infatuation for the atmosphere of mail cars, and every clerk in the service wanted Oney to travel with him for at least one trip. At first tags were tied to his collar stating where he had been on his travels, and when these became so numerous as to impede his movements, a harness was made for him. With this trapping he travelled over prac- tically every mail route in the United States, Canada, Great Britain and Mexi- co. When this noted canine traveller died he was sent to a taxidermist and to- day his stuffed form with all his badges constitutes one of the exhibits in the postoffice museum.
 (Tomorrow, ire state of Jouisana.)