Evening star., 1948-01-12
This and That
By Charles r. Trace,Dell
COLUMBIA ROAD.


COLUMBIA ROAD.
Dear Sir:
II want to thank you for warning people that
q cat with a collar on may accidentally hang
itself
"I lost a splendid dog that way, nearly so
years ago. He was large, active dog, and we
had a large yard, 200 feet on the street.
when my dog would hear horse and wagor
trotting by, he would come tearing around the
house and chase the team, on the inside OF tn,
picket fence.
When he came to the end Of it he would
leap in the~air, trying to 60 over, which was
impossible for him.
"When he fell back, he would sometimes
catch his collar on fence picket Several times
I took him of.
cat last he did it one night and no one heard
or saw him. In the morning my dog was dead.
II suffer with remorse yet, for should have
taken his collar OF every night, and day. too,
when he was loose.
Yours with best wishes, r. D. j."
- 4
ARLINGTON, Va.
Dear Sir
Thank you for your very fine analysis Of the
'belling the cat problem.
II wrote to another source Of information for
suggestions about two months ago, when
Mittens began bringing dead birds to our
back door,
II do feel that you presented both sides
fairly-and I've taken the elastic band with
three little bells OF of the cat.
Most sincerely, H. L. g."
Remorse has It's uses when 1t helps keep q
fine dog alive In loving memory, and finally
brings him back to scamper for few seconds
over printed page.
Sixty years is q long time in any mans life.
Our correspondent should remember that this
good dog would have been gone half century
at the best. He is not dead as long as he Is
remembered. Henry James has very flne long
short-story "The Altar of the Dead" on this
subject.
We can see again the big dog, the long picket
fence, and, wonder Of wonders, the horse and
wagon going along outside.
Those were fine, leisurely days, with plenty
OF time for a man to call his soul his own.
Now one stands in the lobby, passing up one
crowded elevator, in the hope that the next
one will have little room in it, but by the
time the next one opens its door. the lobby has
filled up again.
The expanding universe, as the scientists call
it, is compressed here in little, and 1t is already
bursting its seams.
1t is the same everywhere.
The world is too much with us, indeed!
And there are too many people in it, and
they all seem to be going the same way at the
same time, and all wanting to get on board
the same vehicle, instead of few waiting
for the next one.
The desire to dominate somebody, or some
group of somebodies, has grown around the
world to evil proportions.
1t is q far cry from the days when good
dog ran along the fence, making an impression
to be held in mind all these years.
A bark from the past, let us call it, and
remind the person who hears the echo over the
decade that the sorrow Of the tragedies of our
pets should last only as long as their natural
AFTER that q e We
our correspondent does, keep only in mind the
sweetness and affection they gave us. We must
all die, evil old men, young saints. dogs, cats,
birds, fishes, insects. The whole living round
of creation has been stamped with one fate,
ASK not for whom the bell tolls, it tolls
for thee"
In tending the four-legged small animals, it
is best to keep ribbons and collars off cats
altogether, and to make sure that the dogs
collar is not too loose, fitting reasonably tight,
but not too tight. This should be tested at least
ons week. =