Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1920-03-08
BOOTS, COMMON DOG,
IS WORLD WAR HERO
Miss Booths Pet Is Only Survivor
Of Town Destroyed BY
Huns.


Boots ia Just darn dog. a. the dough
boy regiment that brought him back to
the United States assured the custom
officer who demanded his breed and
price
He's almost n setter ttfe kind that
won't sotl, and pretty nearly terrier,
and good deal uf q colIie, and-but it's
easier To name the dogs he's no, There
doesn't seem to be any bulldog or Rue
sian blood dog in his makeup, and that's
about NIL lle could get blue ribbon for
being the plirest inopsrel at any dog show
in the world
But If ell the dogs in the United States
WIRE lined up, tail to tail. for a national
canine roll call. Boots would be the one
with the most faithful heart and the
rnoat thrilling pas,. That little old black
and-tan epitome Of Every dog who don't
dare write (which" for BootH') makes his
home nowadays st the Salvation Army
headquarters in New York has story OF
his own. les tho story of darn dog and
hero. It's the account Of rnongrel love
and Of n rnongrel LOYALTY equal to those
celebrated in any cf the great dox-cpies Of
tho world.
When the doughboys rushed into Mon.
ncauy. one of the Villages. ri the Marue.
NffHtn n lfW ttifta III s4fsHiu8u-
in July. 1918, they found black -and-tap
cur growing his head off at the Germans
there. tho one representative of the
French nation nt hand. Single-hnndcd
and unarmeJ, Boots bad held the town
for France against the Huns Perhapa
he wns getting n little tired of holding i.
all alone. for he greeted the regiment
with fhe most iervcn, bark II ever ex-
pertel to hear
BooTa CHOOSES uia MATTER.
When the mixup of the next few hours
was over the Germans had gone and
Boots had joined up with the regular
American Army, choosing "a buck private
as his oommander-in-chief. The private
fed him beans, taught him to salute and
offered him harCltack. which Boots re-
fused. naturally mistaking IL for dog
biscuit. In return he tried to help the
private with his striker duties by licking
an officers boots waiting To be shincd, IN
n vain attempt to give IT that mahogany
finish SO highly approved That WAS
how Boots acquired his name. He also
took the private to the heap of stones
that had been his homo, and they agreed
together that it was a darn shame and
that they would like 90 get the Huns for
that
The chance came. The regiment rush
ing headlong into that terrific Chateau
Thierry fight, didn't notice the black-and-
tan dog at their heels just at first When
they did they tried to send Boots back,
but he wouldn't send. There was nothing
yellow about his tan. He was the kind OF
dog that adopts regiment for better or
for worse.
II seemed to be for worsc There
were four long days when Boots wagged
his way through hell at his private's
heels. He was just darn dog, but the
fusillade of shells couldn't daunt him.
In happier times he might have fed
from an upraised broom, but cannon
fixed on that misftting khaki that he
knew from all the other ,90o, ,999 in the
army and forged ahead.
THROUGH SHOT AND SHE'LL
Everyone knows tn estory of Stickeen,
the little dog who braved the avalanches
and the gales because the man he loved
YVES just ahead. Boots avalanches were
of molten steel and the storms he faced
were full of shells. His private had
divided the emergency rations with him,
but these long since were gone. But
the boys say that the persistent tail of
nm hcpS VII ndcStHk I'D tity tIStu
ahead.
His private fell. When one of his
buddies who had seen him fall crawled
back to see whether his pal was living
or dead, he found a black k-and-tan mon
grel waiting patiently there by the life
less body, unmindful of danger. He res
cued the wildly unwilling Boots, drag
ging him back to safety.
Boots struck with the regiment heart
broken though he was at the loss OF his
commander-in-chief He was with it
during all these months in France.
though be never saw more any fighting.
He came back to America on the trans
port with the men. When the regiment
disbanded in New York the question
aorse what TO do with Boots. Every
body wanted him and nobody wanted
him. He wasn't anybody's property in
particular, for he had never adopted
another master. Besides, funds were
low, and the army equipment was
heavy, and the best of dogs il an incon-
venience to traveller. But they wouldn't
think Of deserving that darn dog who
had never deserted them.
Lets give him to Miss Evaneeline
Booth, at the Salvation Army" suggest