Los Angeles herald. [microfilm reel] (Los Angeles [Calif.]) 1900-1911, 1908-07-27
DOGS NOT THE
ONLY VICTIMS
MORALS OF BOYS DEGRADED
BY POUND MEN
TEMPTED TO STEAL BY BEING
GIVEN REWARDS
Youngsters Become Habituated to
sneakIng About Premises That
They May Carry of the
Family Pet

Los Angeles system or dog caJchlnS
have resulted in the moral degradation
of scores of boys living in the vicinity
of the city pound, and that the 25-cent
brides paid them by the dog catehers
whenever they bring q dog to the
pound on which the dog catchers can
collect a fee of 81 or $1.5O from the
city have caused large number of the
boys to become extremely brutal and
degenerate, is the charge made by Mrs.
l.. K. Giese For several years past
Mrs. Giese has been interested in hu-
name work, and she now is one of the
leading spirits in the. campaign IN
augufated by The Herald for the aboli-
ton of the barbarous dog catching sys-
tenn in practice in Los Angeles, by
which the dog is punished instead of
the owner, contrary to the custom III
nearly all other enlightened cities.
1.-The effect of the practice instituted
by these dog catchers,' said Mrs. Giese,
lis decidedly degenerate and brutal.
The boys are given 20 cents for every
dog they bring to the pound, provided
the license has not been paid, and 1t Is
almost certain the animal will not be
reclaimed.
"As soon as the dog is put to death by
asphyxiation, as nearly always hap
pens, the boys get their money, and
some of them make considerable sums
every month by rounding up Innocent
pets on which they are quite sure the
license cannot or will not be paid.
Their feelings becomes hardened, and
they grow to look upon all brute life
with no respect or consideration.
ut is not the dog of the rich man
that suffers from these young ma
RAIDERS, 1t is the dog of the poor man,
for these the youngster is generally
certain will not be redeemed. There
fore he skulks about the alleys and
side streets looking for the pets ana
animal companions of children of the
poor-dogs that belong to families TOO
IMPOVERISHED to defend themselves from
these sneaking, thievish practices, sane
toned by our present system. These
families may be too poor to pay for
license, but surely none the less are
they entitled to have such pet, II IL
is not a nuisance and is kept In their
own yard-especially since so many OF
the rich have whole kennels full OF
costly animals. 1t would seem, now
ever that we are not entitled to any
thing except that which we procure or
retain by money.
''What do these little boys who sneak
around alleys looking for dogs which
they can haul off to their death at 70
cents per death know about the pnii-
osophy of right or wrong? With them
It Is a case of get the money no mat
ter what they must stoop to. and 1T is
hard to realize to what cunning, treach-
erous trickery and diabolical schemes
the dog catchers resort.
''These boys are not legalized Cog
catchers, although they wear badges
They are not entitled to these badges
until they have taken the oath of office.
which no one under the legal age
legally can take; hence, although they
wear the badges it is difficult to under
stand where or how they get them.
There is something wrong about the
whole business. For instance, the rec
ords at the city clerks office show that
only thirteen deputy pound masters
have been sworn In since lSVS yet we
have had scores of them.
"The records also show that william
Vacher was appointed a deputy pound
master in 1903, but they do not snow
who appointed him, which seems pecu-
liar.
again, the records show that in the
same year William Vachers appoint
ment was Cancelled; yet these same
records show that subsequently VIII
liam Vacher appointed another man to
succeed himself, after he was no longer
empowered to appoint him. All of this
has yet to be explained to me.
whether or not this may be legal
remains to be seen, but 1t certainly is
not legal for children to be engaged
in this brutal work, and to be resorting
TO such shameful methods to catch
dogs"
II. J: Fernald, living on the Airing
ton road, beyond the city limits. says
that while attending to some electric
wiring, in which business he is en-
gagged, he saw wagon containing nVe
small boys, none over IL or IL years old,
coaxing a couple of dogs from the
county into the city limits.
According to many county residents
living near the city line this is COM
mon sight The boys get 20 cents Tor
each dog, and so resort to all KINDS
of schemes to make showing ana
earn money.
al M, Florida, All Ganahl street,
states he recently was walking on
West Seventh street and saw several
dog catchers-most of them boys-jump
from their wagon. He stepped behlnu
a tree and watched them try to snare
a couple of dogs on lawn. thelr net
proved useless, and he says they tneh
took a female decoy dog from the
wagon box, where they had evidently
hidden II In fear of arrest, as threat
ened by President thinner of the ). r.
g. A, The men placed the decoy on
the ground to entice the two dogs on
the lawn. One of the dogs had
license, the other was without.
The men stood by till their oppor-
tunity came, then roped the unlicensed
dog. Mr.. Florida says the decoy was
q small dog and so weak it could hardly
walk. 1t was carried back to the
wagon.
Mrs. Giese declares the decoy dog
still is being used, though she says It
is kept hidden in the wagon and no
longer rides on the seat of the wagon,