Evening star., 1943-12-21
This and That
By Charles E. Trdce,Deu.

No one should feel sorry for dog on
leash.
There is nothing that a dog likes
visibly tied to him in the sight Of all
mankind and all dogdom.
The quarantine now in effect may
cause some misgivings to dog owners,
but never to their dogs; the latter fairly
glory in the new relationship.
Whether they walk slow, or fairly run:
whether they pull on the leash, or let it
go slack whether they stop at every
tree or want to chase all the cats they
meet, the dogs enjoy themselves.
X
We have no doubt that the 23d Psalm,
the favorite Of men, is also the favorite
of dogs.
With the change of one word, fully in
keeping with scriptures, the 23d Pslam
would run as follows for the mercy of
all dogs:
THE master is my shepherd; I shall
not want.
He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures; he leadeth me beside the still
waters.
HE restoreth my soul; he leadeth me
in the paths OF Righteousness for his
names sake.
YEA, though walk through the val
ley of the shadow of death, will fear
no evil; for thou art with me; thy rod
and thy staff they comfort me-
Thou prepareth a table before me in
the presence Of mine enemies; thou
anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over
Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life; and
will dwell in the house of the master
forever"
Dogs at home, dogs on the battle
front-every one of them would under
stand this
This idea, that dogs somehow could
read and understand, is one which the
writer has held since childhood, and we
feel that many other persons share it.
1t came, no doubt, from a picture of
an old dog, st. Bernard, as we recall,
wearing spectacles and holding a book
in his paws.
Such is the sagacity of this breed that
the idea of it reading would cause no
concern to any one who loves dogs.
And the follow-up is that every dog,
large or small, pensive or terrierish,
could read, If only he wanted to; 1t is
only some fluke in nature which pre-
vented him.
We suggest, for Christmas present
to your dog-no, not book-but some
thing he would like best, good long
walk, an extra long walk.
On leash, never forget.
A dog on his own is one dog but
dog at the end of leather or cord or
chain is another.
The bond between him and the master
is visible
1t is tangible, something to pull on,
to feel with reinsurance, probably even
the dogs want reinsurance these days.
They are sensitive creatures, holding
certain psychological ties with their
friends on two legs They perhaps lack
some of the esthetic perceptions of the
cat, but share even more fully many of
the occupations of man, and take part
more completely in his joys and woes.
X -
"a good man is hard to find" says a
favorite blues song.
A good dog is not so difficult. He may
be discovered deep in any litter
He may be of any breed. He may
be large, he may be small, he may have
the devil in him, or little of the canine
angel, but it makes no difference. He
is good dog, and every one knows what
that means. 1t means a bit of friend
ship in an unfriendly world; it means
a touch Of soothing amid all the harsh
ness OF wars over land and sea; it means
faithfulness and friendship on a solid
basis; it means that here, at least, you
will not be at the top, one day, and
down at the bottom the next; it means,
IN other words, Just dog, mans best
friend.