The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1916-10-21
HAPPY DOG, is He
Mysterious Animal Has Route
of Garbage Cans.
Every Night at Certain Hour He
Visits NeighbOrhOOd.
NOTHING ABLE TO BATTLE HIM
Inventions to Close Can Tops
Are Easily Solved.
What VIII sour Hero Do This
Winter Is WOnderment.

No one knows his name. Very few
have seen him Scores have heard
him and know his habits. He is
white, his tail is short and his snoot
is long and tricky. He works at night
and probably sleeps happily under
some friendly front porch during the
day. He is the smartest dog in To-
peka-
He has a route by which he travels
at night This path is strewn with
the things best liked by his tribe The
delicacieS are not placed in hos
pitable manner by human hand They
are carefully poked away in alright
garbage cans-pIaced there for the
city wagons to collect the next day
This dog began his nightly trips
early this summer. First the slice ping
porch fans along the College Hill ana
Elmhurst neighborhoods heard the
bang of garbage cans in the quietness
of the night. They suspected dogs
but not A dog
Soon it was evident that at certain
periods during the night, the clang of
the garbage cans lid could be heard
Then the law-abiding sleepers kept a
watch.
They saw sometimes in the moon
Hght-this little. white, stubtailed
dog. A closer watch brought out the
fact that he appeared at a specified
that smarked his path disturbed the
hour of arrival-and departure.
Probably up the street some unfor-
tunate housewife who was not in
good" with her grocer, found it ad-
VisabIe to throw away a juicy part of
the evenings steak Thanks to the
grocer,-so says our four-Iegged hero
One easiIy-d disturbed sleeping porch
advocate-WfIliam R Kercher by
name and living at Thirteenth and
College avenues-fisured out a plan to
thwart this little phantom of the
night Bill had it figured out that the
dog first turned over his garbage can
and then snooted off the top. So he
dug a hole in the ground framed it
with cement and placed the pail deep
down into it.
Bill Kerr hers Story.
TT was about o'clock one morn
ing" explains Kercher. "Just time
for that blasted cur to appear Sure
enough I saw him sneaking up the al
ley-the moon shining with fulI force
upon him laughed to myself And
then I felt sorry-it seemed a shame
plucky little scamp. But my sym
pathy was wasted That dog walked
around the garbage pan, shifted it
here and there. wormed that sharp
nose into the cover-just where I new
er knew-and off it flew He picked
tentedly-and walked on down the al
ley to the south-the proudest dog in
Topeka"
Another head of a household at
tempted to prevent the nightly visits
of the prowler. He perched a section
of q Santa Fe S5-pound rail upon the
cover of his garbage pail. His efforts
were useless The next morning he
found the rail-on the ground. Also
the cover of his refuse cOntainer
Other methods have been tried All
have been equally futile. He battles
every attempt to rob him of his live
Hhood-
Every one is wondering what he will
do this winter. If he can remove the
tops Of these garbage cans in freezing
weather he can accomplish a feat long
ago given up by housewives and city
garbage collectors
He's a doggone logged dog-and ne
deserves and earns every bite he takes.
Which is
MORE
Than some people
WE
know
DO.