Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1921-02-25
A MANS LOVE FOR HIS DOG.
From the American Field.

Then don't you worry, old com.
rade, and don't you fear to die;
For out in tna. fairer country,
will find you bye and bye;
And I'll stand by you. old fellow,
and our love will surely win;
For never q heaven shall harbor me |
where they won't let Keyser in.
"When I reach that city glorious
behind the waiting dark,
Just come and stand outside the
gate, and wag your tail and bark,
I'll hear your voice, - and I'll know
1t. and Til come to the gate and
say:
Saint Peter, that's my dog, out
there; you must let him come this
way
So might John Smith, hermit
of the town of Morse, Wis, have
addressed his faithful dog, be-
tore committing the fatal deed
which ended both lives. Sixty
nine years old, friendless and
weary with the buffetings of a
busy world, he applied for admis-
sion to the Ashland County poor
farm, Ashland, Wis, accompa-
MED by one faithful friend and
companion-his dog. The rules
of the institution forbade admit
lance to dogs and the thought of
parting from his trusty pal plung-
ed him into deep despair.
In lonely shack in the woods,
John Smith looked into the trust
ing brown eyes of his dog, and
pondered over the strange ways
of mankind. Together they had
shared life's joys and sorrows,
infrequeut periods of privation
when the world turned a cold
shoulder to one of life's failures,
faithful "Keyser" was ever there
with his answering devotion
and loyalty-a life apart from
him was unbeara BILE, and so the
great decision was made-they
would cross the Rubicon togeth.
er, and surely The Great Keeper
who comprehends all things
would understand a mans love
for his dog, and permit them to
sojourn together in Valhalla.
They were found in that lone
| ly shack near Ashland, Wis,
cold and still, the mans body
beside that of his dog, his fingers
still clasping the rifle that ended
their lives, thus consummating
the great decision in death as
| in life, inseparable.
| In epic and legend, story and
verse, tribute has been paid to
the friend Of mankind. It only
remained for John Smith, the
lonely recluse, to add the great
est episode Of all to the annals of
dog lore. Well might his epitaph
be written Better love hath no
man than this, that he lay down
his life for his dog"
| The following extract from a
letter written by Geo. E. Crater,
Jr., a great lover Of dogs, to the
mayor of Ashland, Wis, will be
read with appreciation by the
great brotherhood of men whose
bond of unity is a love of the
dog:
Il want to provide a modest
but decent burial for him at my
expense, and | want his dog to be
inferred with him. since in life
he could not find a friend among
men with enough charity or
decency to administer to his
necessities, or to compare in affec-
ton with the love of his faithful
dog friend, for it has been nv
experience with dogs in every
land under the sun, that the vel,
lowest dog | ever knew was more
loyal and devoted than the best
man friend any mortal ever had.
That | could not have helped
him in life does not maxi it I'M
possible to help in a modest way
in death, so beg of your honor
to wire me, at my expense, upon |
receipt of this letter, if | can
serve the old man on his long.
long journey in unknown lands
and to that end keep his one and
only faithful friend-his dog
with him, indentured to his ex.
lstence fer all time by the blood
sacrifice for which no greater
man on earth has ever been able
to boast in all the ages. HaveI
some undertaken place the man
and dog side by side in twot
modest collins and bury them in a |
lot for which l will pay upon re-
ceipt of advices and information
required"
John Smith was buried with
his dog, in Greenwood Cemetery.