The Washington times., 1937-02-03
the feline.


Edwin G. Hill be a hater of
the feline.
A dog lover myself, I side with
Maeterlinck. Others have thought
that Senator Vest, in his famous
address to jury in defense of the
dog, overdid things and waxed a
little poetic, if not maudlin, in his
ending, when he said:
"And when the last scene Of
all comes and death takes the
master in its embrace and his
body is laid away in the cold
ground, no matter if all other
friends pursue their way, there
by his graveside will the noble
dog be found, his head between
his paws, his eyes sad, but
opened, in alert watchfulneSS,
faithful and true in DEATH"
Within the month we have had
devotion beyond the grave. There
was "Shep," a collie pup in 1924
when his master, Francis Nc.
Mahon, was taken to a hospital
in Rock Island, Ill. Shep followed
the Stretcher and set himself down
to wait by an elevator door. And
he waited for more than IL years.
TWO INSTANCES
His master died the day after
entering the hospital. Shep would
not leave and resisted all attempts
to move him. At length, the hos
pital folk made friends with him,
but through the years he spent
most of his time by the elevator
door until his own end came.
In Sarasota, Fla, an elderly
woman lived alone in a one-room
cabin, alone save for a dog. She
died suddenly and the dog stood
guard until killed by the police.
There has been considerable
criticism, and justly so, over the
recent "de-barking" of a dog in
Buffalo The animal, a Dober-
Pinscher, annoyed the neighbors
by his yelpingS in the night. Fac
ing a heavy fine, the animals
owner agreed to do an operation
by which the dogs vocal chords
were shipped.
Albert PaySon Terhune, known
for his stories about dogs and his
training of them, was one who
took exception to such punish
ment, saying:
II have 10 dogs here on my
estate and if one them barkS
/ know he has every good reason
for making noises. 1 taught
them to be good canine citizens
when they were puppies. If they
barked unnecessarily, then I
would come down and simply
talk to them. They understood.
The United States is perhaps
the greatest dog country in the
world, Notwithstanding the claims
for England. This is particularly
true about registered thorough
bredS. For 1886, a record number,
BATS of these blue -bloods, had
their names added to the social
register of dogdom. All told, there
are in the United States $4,000
pure-bred dogs, and undoubtedly
10 times that number which have
never known a stud book.
These pedigreed dogs, alone, are
worth at least $50,000,000 and
about twice that sum must be
spent yearly because they must
eat, be groomed and be doctored.
A dog isn't tickle, whether he
be mongrel or blue-ribbon winner.
But the public is tickle in the mat
ter OF breeds, which, in the mat
ter OF popularity. come and go like
women's fashions.
POPULAR BREEDS
Within the past decade or so we
have noticed the airedaIe, the Ger
man shepherd and the wire-haired
fox terrier holding the spotlight
in turn as the dog of the day.
At the present time the cocker
spaniel baSkS in the spotlight as
the most popular breed. Well. he
deserves it, for he is a fine sturdy
fellow, gentle, wise and compan-
ionable.
Some of the breeds which are
commonplace in our streets today
nave rOmaII1c histories, the Pek-
ingese, for instance. This dog,
small but with the heart of lion,
was unknown to Europeans IS
years ago. It was the special pet
Of the Manchu emperors and was
brought from China by British
officers in the Cos.
Don't be surprised if the streets
OF VOllr citV arn filled within tho
next four years by a long haired
dog which has the face Of a
baboon. This is the Afghan hound,
a favoriteS of the Arabs and the
Persians. 1t is finding great favor
IN London today, having been in
troduced there by British officers
from the World War.
(Copyright. 1877. by King Eaaturaa