The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1912-05-29
PITf THE POOR BOG.
A Friend Speaks Up for Dumb
Brutee

To the Editor the Press and Banner:
Importuned by the ladies of the
Civic League, the City Council has
put into effect a most unreasonable
and arbitrary law, prohibiting own
ers of dogs allowing them to run at
large.
Dogs from time out of mind have
been the subject of hostile legislation
and even more hostile treatment.
The owner of a dog in Abbeville
pays a tax of IL cents and a license of
fifty cents to the county treasurer,
and then a tax of six cents and a Ii
cense of a dollar to the city, a total
of Sl.6s; and despite tax and license
he must now tie up his dog or have
him killed. Either the license or the
restraint is wrong, and in our opinion,
neither would stand the test of the
courts.
Even an unoffending dog should
not suffer death for the mere Whim of
the Civic League or the Council.
The dog is mans most faithful friend.
All the world may desert him his
wife and family may turn their backs
on him, but if he has been kind to
his dog he will always meet him
with a wag of his tan and motion of
his body that say more plainly than
words, II am your willing and faith
full servant until DEATH" You may
be reduced to poverty; the cold win
ter's wind may blow through a hun
|dred cracks in your humble cabin ;
half-starved yourself, your dog may
fare even worse; yet he will lie at
your door and guard your humble
home as faithfully as though it were
Ia princely palace. With instinct
more penetrating than human judy
ment, he looks alike through rags or
royal purple and divines the real
man despite his vestment.
No other animal is 80 faithful or so
affectionate. The cat, for instance,
likes a close house, hot fires and
warm rugs. When poverty comes in
at the door the cat usually goes out
at the window.
The dogs intelligence in emer-
gency is worthy of mention. We
know personally of an instance in
point: A child was being charged by
an Infatuated bull and would most
certainly have been goredand tram
pied to death. A large bull dog, see
ing the danger, caught the bull in
the nose and threw him, thus en-
abring the mother of the child to
reach il and bear it to safety.
Many authentic stories are told of
dogs saving children from drowning.
Moved by a sense of danger, they
have been known to awaken the in
mates of a burning house, who might
have perlshed but for the timely
warning.
The dog is the most intelligent of
all animals. Instinct, aided by the
sense of smell which they possess in
such a marked degree, enable them
often to Outwit human intelligence.
We recall two instances of our per-
lsonal knowledge: A nan of u &C
quaintance had visited his water
melon patch, and in stopping down
to ;thump his melons, had lost from
his vest pocket a small roll of money,
some twenty or thirty dollars. He
looked for it in vain, and finally had
his son to come down and help him.
The son had a retrieving pointer,
that had been trained to find and
bring in things that had been thrown
out. He suggested to his father that
he let the dog smell some object that
he, carried about his person and make
as if he had thrown it out into the
patch. This was done. The dog
searched the patch in q little while,
and with such are that the parties
were not greatly surprised to see him
returning with the money in his
mouth.
A professor in a nearby college
had a dog of which he was very fond,
that he kept at his fathers home.
He took him with him on one occa-
sion to the college, and, being a little
absent-minded, left his dog at the
railroad station and went to the col
lege, about two miles distant. The
dog in some inconceivable way found
bis masters trunk on the platform
land laid down by it. When the bag
gage man went to get the trunk, the
dog charged at him 50 furiously that
he had to retreat. All the other
trunks were removed, but not this
one. The dogs master had to come
back and get dog and trunk together.
We make this plea for the dog be-
cause the great majority of those
who own dogs can not defend them.
The poorest man may have his dog.