Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1925-02-20
COON DOGS DEATH
CAUSES $4,000 FINE

lUVN DUU , DLAln
j CAUSES $4,000 fINI
Il ]. F. Shadwell Of Columbia Furnace
owned valuable coon dog. So valu
liable indeed that the nocturna lactivitie
Iof the dog oftimesuetted the owner a
much as twenty dollars from the goinl
down of the sun until the rising thereof
| Marion r. Emswiller, of Calvary
owned shot gun, and still owns i
for that matter. Messrs. Shadwell and
Emswiller enacted the leading roles il
a trial staged in the Court House or
Saturday before Justices A. c. Stick
Hey, G. A. Miller and w. E. Shaver, in
which the dog, the gun and ten wit
nesses figured and which was thorough
ly enjoyed by capacity audience.
The case was docketed as the Com
monwealth VS.. M. F. Emswiller ant
the defendant was charged with having
on the Is day or December. 1924
maliciously, unlawfully and pre-
meditatedly shot and killed certain
dog the property of j. F. Shadwell.
From the evidence in the case it ap'
pears that Shadwell's dog wandered
from the old homestead and sought
comradeship with certain dogs. or Q
dog, which abode temporarily at the
Emswiller home. A young SON of the
defendant disturbed the canine fellow
ship on the day of the tragedy, and
the manner Of the coon dog suggested
to Mr.. Enlswiller that said dog was
mad, or at least considerably peeved
Whereupon Emswiller, SO it is alleged
shot the dog. There was considerable
disparity in the testimony as to the
actual time of the killing, but the un-
animous opinion was that the dog was
dead after having been punctured by
the load of shot fired from Emswiiler's
gun.
The defense proved to the satisfaction
of the trial Court that tho the dog may
have been mad it was not such mad
ness as would have warranted belief
that it was suffering from rabies, and
therefore the killing was unwarranted
and unlawful. 1t was held that even
though the dog was trespasser such
trespass was not of such character as
to entitle the defendant to STAY, and
after weighing all of the facts and
circumstances surrounding the case
the Court, without dissenting opinion,
found Emsweller guilty and fixed his
fine at $40. An appeal was noted and
the chances are that a Shenandoah
County jury will finally determine the
question of Emswiller's justification in
killing ShadwelPs dog.
1t is not generally known that the
canine has inspired some of the choicest
bits Of oratory in the English language
and that many classics have been
penned by lovers of the dog. Altho'
not part of the trial several Of these
are appended, suggested by Saturday
court proceedings.
BY SENATOR VEST.
'Getlemen of the jury, the best
friend a man has in the world may
against him and become his enemy.
His son or daughter that he has reared
with loving care may prove migrate
full. Those who are nearest and dear
est to us, those whom we trust with
our happiness and good name, may be-
come traitors to their faith. The
money that man has he may lose. It'll
flies away from him perhaps when he
needs it most. A mfn's reputation
may be sacrificed in a moment OF i'll
action The people who
are prone to fall on their knees to do
Us honor when success is with US may
be the first to throw the stone of NAL.
ice wheu failure settles its clouds upon
our heads.
The one absolutely unselfish friend
that man can have in this selfish
world, the one that never deserts him,
the one that never proves ungrateful
or treacherous, is his dog. He will
sleep on the cold ground where the
wintry winds blow.and the snow drives
freely if only he may be near his mas
ter's side. He will kiss the hand that
has no food to offer. He will lick
the wounds and sores that come in
encounter with the roughness of the
world. He guards the sleep of his
pauper master as if he were a prince.
When all other friends desert, he re-
mains. When riches take wings and
reputation falls to pieces he is as con-
slant in his love as the sun in its jour-
ney through the heavens. If fortune
drives the master forth an outcast in
the world, friendless and homeless,
the fsithful dog asks no higher priv
liege than that Of accompanying him.
to guard him against danger, to fight
his enemies.
And when the last scene Of all comes
and death takes the master in its en-
brace and his body is laid away in the
cold ground, no matter if all other
friends pursue their way, there by his
grave side will the noble dog he found,
his head between his paws, his eyes
sad, but opened to alert watchfulness,
and true even in DEATH"
BY PRESIDENT HARDING.
"Edgewood Hub in the register, a
mark of his breeding; but to US just
Hub, little Boston terrier, whose