Henderson gold leaf. [volume] (Henderson, N.C.) 1911-19??, 1911-05-04
THE DOG DEFENDED.
A Omen Letter to Miss Alpha Omega
From Towers Friend.
(ContIibuted }


.,u vour attention to the matter,
Saline. sure that on further consider
..,iuu Won will see fit to retract your
..+atapants. and to make due apollo
gy for them.
In the letter referred to yOu class
the dug with the hog, AS an undeslr
alba citizen, and suggest that the
toyn rid itself of the former, as it
has already done OF the latter. | am
wholly unable to account for the
rrpnIice that must have prompted
Won in making this scurrilous charge.
For reasons that find explanation
IN religious customs, the Jews and
Nohammpdans have always outlaw
aJ the dog; and recently We we're
shocked by the pitiable sight of the
dogs Of Constantinople being ban
ishpd to a desolate island in the
Mediterranean. to die OF exposure
and hunger Among most OF the
nations. however, from time immemO-
rial. the dog has been regarded as
mans best friend in the animal
kingdom. Homer, writing some
. 700 years ago, gives US one of the
most beautiful and pathetic pictures
in all literature, in which he portrays
the devotion of dog to his master.
The hog is of the lowest order OF
intelligence among the animals, and
the ofipnsiveLess of his habitatiOn is
proverbiaI. He is valuable only for
food. and if he had never been put to
this use it is probable that the hu-
man race would be immeasurably
better Off.
The dog, on the other hand, is the
most intpligent OF the elOWer animals,
and il fitted above all Others to be
the friend and companion OF man.
There are few human passions that
are not shared by the dog. He is
capable of anger, jealousy, hatred,
love He shows gratitude, pride,
generosity, fear. He possesses mem
ory, imagination, and, to some eX-
tent, the power OF assOciating ideas.
"The dog may almost be said to
have a religion, in which man is its
god and his will its rule Of conduct.
It's true that many Christian vir-
tues seem to he more perfectly eXem-
pIiiied in the dog than in its master.
Its forgiveness knows no limit, and
it is ever ready to caress the hand
that strikes it. 1t has a devotion
that is utterly self-forgetting, and
extends even unto death. These re-
HectiOns suggest the remark OF the
rynir, "'Hhe more | see OF men, the
better love my dog
No other animal is more valuable
to man in his development than the
dog The first of the animals to be
dompstirated, he assisted in subdu-
iu@ the rest. With sleepless eyes he
has, through the centuries, watched
over Isis masters property and his
life The services of the bloodhound
il tracking enemies and criminals
have been recognized from the days
of Wallace and Bruce to the present
time But for the sheep-dOg OF
Scotland the highlands would be
useless for sheep raising. At word
or look from their master they will
gather to the fold the sheep scat
tered over the hills for miles around.
Stories of the service rendered by the
Newfoundland and St Bernard dogs
in the saving of human life, have
been told around the world. Cuvier,
the celebrated naturalist, says of the
domestication OF the dog that it Is
the completest, the most singular,
and the most useful conquest ever
made by man."
True, in the course OF human de-
YelOpment, we have come to q place
where We are not us dependent upon
the service of the dog as We formerly
were, but shall we show our graft
tude for past favOrs by turning him
out into the outer darkness in COM
pany with the hog? After he has as
sisted us in our rise through savage
ry and barbarism to q condition OF
comparative civilization, is it too
much that we should give him an Oc-
caSlonul 10y ride" in an automo-
hlle. After the centuries through
which he has stood in the cold and
the rain, guarding the helpless ones
IN the home, is it too much that the
mother, whom he has assisted,
should sometimes fOndle him in her
arms?
Miss Alpha Omega makes the
statement that as a dissemination OF
disease the dog has the hog skinned
block This assertion our gentle
friend would not seriously attempt
TO defend. 1t is, of course, figure
81 speech. Disease germs, presuma-
oiy, have always been among us,
and there is no evidence that the dog
mas ever taken any special interest
III their distribution.
No, We are not yet ready to turn
out the dog. And We shall keep him,
not merel V for what he has been, but
also Tor what he is-man's most de-
voted and loyal friend. One home in
tnIs community yet mOurns dog
mat almost starved watching Its
masters coat that had been forgot
ten IN n field, and later died OF a
9roken heart a few days after the
peath OF its little playmate in the
IIoIne. Many OF us who are Older
nave often found how close the
Years. lie to the surface when memory
mas recalled the dog that played
WIN us and watched over Us in OuI
ChlidhoOd days.
Perhaps the dog will have no ex
islehce IN another world than this
oIt who knows? His mental traits
referred to above, render him an in
oertstlng study to the philosopher
as well as to the naturalist. The
apostle John, (Rev. 22:15) with tru'
Sea,5 oe%ls4 prejudice against the dog
c1Eudes him from the renewed socia
IrIer oII For countless thousands Q
CiIHlIaren, oIl however, both young ano
U,a, ma there is, touching this particular
matter, IN more satisfaction to be foun(
~ Hprlnger's dream of the futur
Tbatra MurosD, in which she picture
;tn ue reunion of the child and it's favor