Evening star., 1923-12-30

lem of the stray. vagrant,
unlicensed dog, in the in
ception and perfection of police and
detention service for wandering
members of the canine family. which
is a model for other American cities,
both large and small.
The vicious dog is we'll under con-
troll; Washington streets and avenues
are free of mongrel hounds; District
school children are not exposed to
serious injuries from rabid dogs. and
throughout the little land of the
neglected ballot box animals of the
.'Bowser" and pet poodle families are
handled in orthodox fashion as re-
suit of the efficiency of the local dog
laws and regulations.
The Washington dog pound. out
near the end of South Capitol street,
is a kisd of clearing house of canine
society. There, on occasion, you
might find the prize poodle of the
President of the United States occu-
pying d pen adjoining that of the un-
pedigreed puppy of some local rag
picker. For the District of Columbia
regulations require that the dog
catcherfs wagon pick up and incar-
cerate all dogs that are found on the
: streets that do not wear approved
license tags.
At one time or another, some of the
most plutocratic pedigreed dogs of
Washington have met at the pound
the valuable, pure-bred animals of
cabinet members. congressman, So
intxr
merce and industry.
Even the first dog of the land"
has been rescued from the pound on
at least one occasion, for during the
administration of Woodrow Wilson
his Liverpool setter was once picked
up on the street without license tag
by the District dog catchers. and fin
ally lodged in the Washington canine
bastile. On the payment of a So re-
demption fee and an additional 81 for
dog license by the White House
authorities the setter was ultimately
returned to his cushioned corner in
the matchless residence at 1900 Penn
sylvania avenue.
x X y =
NnN another occasion the pedigreed
Airedale of Dr. Cary Grayson
won temporary accommodation in the
Washington pound, because the ami
NAL was without muzzle during the
regulation dogmask season.
A Boston bull and an Irish setter
owned by Mrs. Nicholas Longorth
also ended up in the dog gaol one
day, as result of infraction of the
! Washington regulations. Mrs. Long
worth came in person after her pets,
and compiimented the poundmaster
upon the efficiency of his service.
Leading congressman have time
and again made the rough trip over
the cobblestones of South Capitol
street in order to visit the pound and
rescue their dumb pets that in one
way or another had come to grief and
won temporary quarters. 81
Some of the most prominent peo-
pie in Washington have purchased
dogs from the poundmaster. Visit
the local pound some afternoon and
you may see to your amazement sew
eral famous senators CT other Off
cials walking from pen to pen, exam
lining the different dogs and trying
to decide on which animals to take
home as pets for their children to
play with.
If you chance TO admire the house
. dog of some friend of yours, who is
rather remiss about answering your
inquiry relative to where he pur-
chased the animal, You may take it
for granted that the dog came from
the Washington pound, where a per-
son amy often get pure-bred pedi-
greed animals for a paltry So apiece.
1t was away back in 1896 that Con-
gress passed a special act providing
for the sale by the District pound
master of dogs which were found to
be safe and free of disease. blanket
price of So a head was fixed lr-
respective of the size. age. breed or
: pedigree of the individual dog, the
animal has been sold for 50 from that
day to this.
Recently the writer examined two
as fine pure-bred, Airedale puppies as
are to be found in the District of
Columbia. They were pound orphans
and were TO be sold at the regulation
price, despite that they were worth
at least $50 apiece. Under such con-
ditions. it is small wonder that Wash
ingtonians visit the local pound when
they make up their minds to buy
:, dogs for pets or playmates for their
children. Some dogs worth from $500
to $500 have been imprisoned in the
pound for few hours at a time until
their owners located them.
w. r. Smith. the District pound
master, finds good homes for at least
half of the dogs which his assistants
bring to the c;s,ine police pens. When