St. Landry clarion. (Opelousas, La.) 1890-1921, 1909-04-17
THE MUzzLE ORDINANCE.


The ordinance Of the city council
providing for the muzzling Of dogs
has been in force but a few weeks,
but it has already proven SO iniqui-
tous, brutal and idiotic that the coun-
Gil can not fail but to repeal it, and
that in a hurry.
In the first place, there is no town
pephaps on the face of the earth that
encumbers its ordinance book with
such an outrageous and inhumau law.
The ordinance was born at a time
when the fears of our people had
been worked up by the appearance
Of a few cases Of so-called rabies,
none of the cases pronounced to have
been the dread disease, but on the
contrary all evidence going to show
that it is. very doubtful if any Of
them were in truth hydrophobia.
Hence it was hastily drawn up, with
visions Of mad dogs running harrum
scarrum about the city uppermost in
the minds of the council and com
pletely obscuring their better judg-
ment.
OF course these gentlemen Of the
council were honest and conscientious
in the move; Of coures they thought
they were taking a step for the pro-
lection of the peoples of the commu-
nifty; and any law that would have
had the effect of lessening the danger
to our dear ones would have been a
proper law and the aldermen would
have deserved to be lauded for it.
But, as we have said, the law has
proven not only a failure in the way
Of protecting the people, but on the
contrary has proven an outrageous
invasion of the rights Of citizens and
an inhuman and brutal injustice to
the faithful dogs, the truest friend of
man, the one dumb brute that has a
heart that beats with affection for it's
owner and a fidelity that has ever
challenged mans admiration and
mans love.
One instance Of the utter unrelia-
biIity Of the provisions Of the ordi-
nance, and the injustice and wrong it
is liable to infict upon citizens of the
town, occurred the past week.
There was a little dog, Jack" BY
name, the pet of a household, idolized
by the two little girls of the house.
He was Of the pug breed, easily dis
tinguishable from the common cur,
not only on account of the marks of
his breed, but because Of his we'll
kept condition. Jack" was wont to
follow the ma of the house TO his
work sometimes, OF perhaps one Of
the little girls going to school. For
this reason, perhaps the first muzzle
that came to the city after the pass
age of the ordinance was bought for
Jack" On account Of the peculiar
shape of the pug's head, it was diff
cult to make the muzzle fit, but this
was accomplished by shortening and
readiusting the straps. Of course
Jack" did not take kindly to the
muzzle, and he would rear up in the
air, put his paws between the leather
and his neck, and try his level best
to disengage himself from the incum-
brance. This he succeeded in doing
several times. The muzzle was read
justed tighter.
Monday Jack" escaped from the
yard and followed his master. In
some way he slipped his muzzle. He
stopped on the courthouse square to
gamboI with other dogs. He was
shot, falling in . gutter with his nose
in the mud while trying TO reach the
kind protection of home and his little
-mistresses, after the cruel death
bullet had plowed through it's inof-
fensiye little body.
There were two broken little hearts
at the home that night. They had
raised him from a puppy-he had
slept from puppyhood in the little
girls room. They pleaded between
sohs to be allowed the privilege Of
burying him in the yard, but the
father told them that the town had
already done 80. The bleeding head
and glazed eyes of little Jack" was
not i sight, he thought, for them to