The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1919-10-04
'1Andrew," Largest Canine in
Topeka, q Real Friend.
Brought Here Years Ago by
Late C. w. Kouns.
FAMILY HAS DESERTED HIM
Even Old Home on Topeka Ave-
nue. Burned Down.
But 'Tex" Is Coming Back
Maybe His Sisters, Too.

It is mighty seldom. and probably
has never happened before that a dog
attains the emfnence of becoming a
public character in a cit of $4,000
persons.
Yet that is the result of the career
of Andrew Kouns, the largest dog
in the city of Topeka. known by
sight, at least. to more Topeka per-
sons than any other dog that ever
made Topeka his home.
Andrew is an old dog now. If
he could talk he could tell a story of
pleasures, happiness and bitter dis
appointment. His life has witnessed
the range of emotions upon which
/ all human life is based. He might re-
member a day when he was puppy in
Amarillo, playing with a brother near
a hotel The late General Manager
kouns. of the Santa Fee saw him and
brought him and the other puppy to
| live in Topeka and become the prop
erty of his son. Charles Kouns. The
other dog did not live long.
Some time after that Charles W.
Kouns died. Andrew seemed to
realize the loss as keery as his human
| friends. For a long time he did not
stir very far from the Kouns resi-
| dence. The house burned to the
ground in February, 1918. Andrew
was homeless. The family was all
broken up. The two girls. Miss Nellie
Kouns and Miss Sarah Kouns. Joined
/ the ranks of the chosen few; gifted
with talent and exceptional voices
They moved on into the limited circle
whose field of activity is the wide,
wide world; the four corners OF the
globe; and travelled into other coun-
tries thousands of miles from Topeka
to place before a pleasure seeking
public their attainment in musical
artistry Charles Kouns, who, as a
young chap found Andrew an enjoy
able companion, had grown up and
had gone away to school to finish his
education and later into business in
another city.
He wandered Around.
With Andrew IT was simply a case
of no place to go. There were many
neighbors living near the Kouns old
give Andrew a home; they tried it
But the dog just couldn't see them.
He wandered from place to place.
Moving around as fancy seemed to
direct. He finally landed at the home
of DR.. and Mrs. H. H Swallow, at
1901 Harrison street. There he form
ed q partnership with Tom O'Brian-
the gardner. O'Brian has been with
| the Swallows for more than twenty
years. He is a Santa Fe men also, for
years ago he worked for the road
Tom was almost as much alone in the
world as was Andrew
The word comes now that Charles
| Kouns is coming back to Topeka to
enter business here. Andrew is
! a pretty old dog now and doesn't have
| the pep 70 do much moving around
| but there can be no doubt but that
| he will appreciate keenly the arrival
| of young kouns-
| Then II Andrew could read he
| might have seen something printed
| in Variety, a theatrical magazine, that
| would have filled him with pleasure
A recent issue of Variety carries the
| announcement that the KounS girls
after many months in France and
| England. They will no doubt visit
I Topeka.
Has Sense of Humor.
| Evidently there is again the-emotion
of extreme satisfa ction ahead for
| Andrew after all the disappoint-
| ments.
There is a story IN connection with
Andrews youth which proves that
! he has a sense of humor and appreci-
ates a joke. There was young chap
in Topeka who had been reading THE
| Hound of the Baskervilles." 1t was
on a dark. desolate stormy night Just
the sort of night that the Hound"
prowled about weird, uncanny m0ors
in barren part of Scotland It was
on nights like that when the Hound
slipped out and chased persons in
death hunts across the eiry moors on
stormy, rainy nights. when interulit-
tent flashes and shinmerings of light
ming made his eyes CLEAN unnaturaIly
and lent him the appearance of having
twice his real size.
! The chap had to go on an errand.
AS he walked home he thought of-the
dog chasing the man in the story and
thought it would be q good night for
the Hound to operate He mag
ined how the man felt when he heard
the patter of the dogs toe nails claw
ing the ground behind him in the
darkness. Suddenly he thought he
heard the patter of feet behind him
Cold chills crept up his back and the
hair rose on the back of his head. For
an instant he thought perhaps his
imagination was simply running wild.
But there was no mistake; the patter
/ Of feet on the sidewalk back OF him
was coming rapidly nearer. He looked
back and saw two cleaning eyes COM
! ing toward him and q large indistinct
| shape. twas a case Of feet, If YOU
stay with me, we're going to leave this
place" Before he thought, he was
making nearly 4 mile a minute-and
+ the patter of feet back OF him in the
darkness was making more speed than
r he was He stumbled and felI-it was
l the last great day he thought as the
shape closed in on him Then came a
flash of ughtning-there stood An
drew with a huge smile on his face