The New York herald., 1921-01-09
ABOUT AU TIL rs
All Dogs Are Created Free and Equal;
1t Is Ours to Preserve This Equality
Bv LOUISE CLOSER HALE.

COpDrtght, 1871, THE NEW 1Ohk f1h1tLps
THATS the title of the book, Dogs
from Life" Doubleday. Page Com
pany). Below it says Thomas l..
Masson," and we know. If we stop to THINK
that Mr. Mason the managing editor
of Life, has put dog pictures and dog jokes
of the magazines contributors into the pooK
which we are opening hurriedly.
We open 1t hurriedly, not that we are
ANYTHING but grateful to Mr.. Mason for
compiling this volume, which should serve
eternally as a gift book for children ana
grownups. but that may see II our kind
of dog is faithfully presented there.
am Just as fond Of clothes as any one (now
wait. this is not a departure), yet when
take up a certain magazine, with gowns as
it's reason for being. but the overhead Cor
overdress), largely paid for by kennel ad-
vertisements, l always look first to see II
nv breed of dog is staring out at us begging
some one to buy him. In dental parlors ana
at the throat specialists l watch other wait
ing patients when they are turning over
those first pages also, and ii Is ridiculous
the way they stop to look at Pekingese and
Chows and any kind of dog but Scotties
Just to show what kind of a dog have
I found him twice the first page OF
Dogs from Life" That Is. he was probably
a black Scotty in the picture. not white
one like mine. Still he was Scotch. wrote
a whole chapter in book recently published
(Which 1 hope you received for Christmas)
about following Scottish regiment through
London streets and how much l admired
them but did not confess in the chapter
that way down in my heart l was really
following them on account of my West High
lander.
1t shows a generous spirit on the part or
Robert Dckey who made the drawings on
the first page of the Scotch doggies because
on careful perusal of his delightful sketches
1 fear he prefers a br!ndled bull - has one
in his home at present no doubt.
Toby Was Really of Theatrical Stock
For He Enjoyed His Midnight Supper.
But l am like that too. l can't stand
people who always talking about their
own dog and never seem interested when
/ speak of Toby. Toby is my dogs name
A fine old name. if you remember the Punch
and Judy shows of your youth. He is OF
theatrical stock: that is. he really comes
under the head of dramatists. for he Is from
the kennels of our dear Edward Sheldon.
But he soon took on the customs OF the
theatre, not that we ever allowed him in
and about the dressing rooms or mixing up
with the chorus girls. but he dropped into
our easy hours of eating and, although he
should not have done so. he always horned
in on the midnight. theatrical supper. That
passed. and Toby went away by train to
another house into a decent and less theat-
rical atmosphere. He had one plate of food
at in the afternoon and none too lavish
at that But listen to this. in all this passage
Of time (three years have gomez Toby never
finishes that plate at 5. He goes back ct
midnight to enjoy his theatrical snack. all
alone in the kitchen.
1 would not speak of Toby did not feel
hot ha fe llv M n
myself He has individuality, II do say 1t
as shouldn't. / shall never forget that day
when I led him forth from the dog doctors.
shaved and shamed for the hot summer. We
took bus down to. Washington Square and
/ don't know whether I should have felt
worse if l had been sitting there entirely
rude myself Yet so fine a presence, so mag
netic personality has he that an absolutely
strange lady. with a platinum purse and a
heart of gold, leaned forward and said: Il
just do believe that's Toby l read about in
-" and then she mentioned one of my
books which wrote soon he was suffi
GENTLY hammered to go on a motor trip.
hammered in eighth story apartment!
What walks-what hours of walks we had
in the park teaching him ct manners.
Sometimes he could hardly wait till he got
home
To go back to dogs generally; in my catho-
licity of taste Il Is understandable why so
many splendid dog artists have reproduc-
tions in this book of other breeds than Toby.
but 1t is beyond me how those with the
names of Campbell and Mcdonnell can pre-
sent such wonder pups. yet with not West
Highlander among them. There is one
family etched in by Angus MacDonnell on
page Al But he Is a ghost dog II makes
me catch my breath and close the book for
a little What will do when Toby becomes
a ghost dog and waits outside the heavenly
gates for me! And oh, why don't I behave
better so that he will not have to wait eter
nally and be humilated before the other
dogs. whose masters and mistresses by
long life of dull and exemplary conduct are
sure to come along the shining path to
heaven?
What the Wagon Meant-a Meal at the
S. p. c. A.. Then the Death Chamber.
Why must we care for them so much when
their little span of life Is so short, anyway?
Is 1t that we must bear some pain in propor
ton to the love they give us? Wouldn't II
be better. after all, to be like the man on
page 81 who doesn't like dogs and whom dogs
don't like? That man will never spend a
sleepess night because he didn't stay away
from his matinee performance land lost his
job) trying to catch a bewildered lost dog
That man will never have his hands covered
with rngworms from coaxing, helping
carrying a sick Submerged" hound to n safe
place till the wagon" comes to get him.
That man will never hear in his ears, even
though a decade has passed the agonized
~ a NJ ba nc