Evening star., 1941-02-09
Owner Recalls Damage
He Wrought as Puppy
Once Chewed Up
Library Book on
Training of Dogs
Prize Contribution
BY YVONNE McCAY, IA,
Fairfax (Va.) High School.

Tad of Clarendall is a German
| shepherd dog. When he was
months and 5 days old my parents
bought him from a doctor at Nc
Lean, Va. At that time we lived in
! three-room apartment, and any
one who has tried it knows that a
shepherd puppy and an apartment
don't mix.
! AS a puppy Tad was most destruc-
/ tive. For example, one day he made
/ a total wreck of the apartment. He
had been in my bed and taken the
! pillows from it and strewn them
about the floor My mothers bed
was deprived of its mattress and
coverings and a goOd-Sized corner of
| the lower sheet was torn off. Much
to my distress, he had removed the
trash from the waste cans and
dragged it across the floor and he
had broken several glasses
To climax his deviiment, Tad
cheWed up a library book on train
ing dogs and ripped out the arm of
a good upholstered chair. This was
one of his worst days How he did
all that between 1890 pm, when
fed him his lunch, and 3:l5, when
7 returned from school, I'll never
know
Training of some kind had to be
starred soon, Ne definitely knew
that, so the diTi"',lt task was te-
gun, Fir, Tad was b"cken sr,--
ness, and then the elements of train
ing were put into practice. He
learned quickly, but what dog
wouldn't if he were fed choice bits
Of fat scraps from the meat dish
at the supper table as a reward,
When we had had our little
man for exactly one month and a
day he went to his first dog show.
He returned triumphantly with a
blue rosette. first in puppy males
at the Philadelphia show. Shortly
afterWard we moved to a house
where our dog had more room.
At months he went to his second
show and entered his first obedience
test. Again he was triumphant,
although our friends said he didn't
have chance and that you can't
train puppy. Evidently you can
because Taddy won over IS other
dogs with a score of SO out of a
possible 100.
Tad's show career has been rath-
er unsuccessful as far as the regu-
lar classes are concerned. for he
is far from the perfect show speci-
men. In my opinion. however, he
has made up for it in his obedience
work. for he has been acknowledged
by the American Kennel Club as
having attained two degrees, his
c. D. companion dog, and c. D. X
companion dog excellent He has
only one test to pass now before he
will have the last obedience degree
obtainable in this country, U. D
tutility dog.
Narrow Escape.
Tad's life has not always been
bed of roses. Summer before last
he was shot in the left shoulder.
1t was uncanny how he pulled
through, because some of the shot
almost touched his heart, and for
some time he lay at deaths door
This past summer the left leg and
shoulder went bad again, and an
operation was performed Again
Tad almost died. Mother said that
he had nine lives and had used
two of them.
In spite of his sickness. Tad has
recovered and become his same old
self-cheerful, glad to see any one
but strangers, always willing to
learn more tricks and just as head
strong as ever.
I can understand how any one
can love a mongrel for I had one
once, but there never has been. nor
ever will be another dog anything
like Tad. Here's to our little man."
may his life he long and happy and
may he soon receive his u. D.