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| "Dog is a faithful and courageous companion of man." |
The dog, a faithful, courageous and intelligent domestic animal, to which no truer or more simple tribute could be made than the following eulogy by Former Senator George Graham Vest:
"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. A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies. And, when the last scene of all homes, 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 open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death."
The earliest date of domestication of the dog is a matter of dispute, but he was the companion of man before history was first recorded. There is no doubt, however, that dogs are the descendants of several different kinds of wolves and jackals. Various breeds of dogs are now found everywhere, except perhaps in New Zealand. They serve the cannibals of the Pacific islands, the Eskimos of the frozen north, the red men of the prairies and the modern men of all civilized cities of the world. A few of the habits of their wild ancestors of the jungles and plain are still retained by the dogs of the household, such as digging up the earth with their forefeet and throwing it back with the hind feet, and turning around two or three times before lying down. If left to themselves some kinds of dogs would no doubt again become wild, as did the dogs left on Robinson Crusoe's island and as did the noble beast in Jack London's Call of the Wild. They would lose their bark, which observers consider an attempt to imitate the human voice, and would merely yelp and howl. Wild dogs are found in Southern Asia and in the islands of the Pacific. In Australia one species, a destroyer of sheep, is known as the dingo. The wild dog of India is the dhole, about which Kipling has written.
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| Scratching behind the ear. |
In snow and ice-bound northern lands dogs play an important part in the activities of man. In Alaska, sled dogs and reindeer have been employed almost entirely for transportation in the past. Dogs which are half wolf, called malamutes, were harnessed to sleds in a line, one before the other. Those dogs were both thievish and are fierce fighters, however, and the Labrador huskies, which were longer-legged, more efficient cross-bred dogs, are slowly taking the place of the malamutes. These ‚huskies‚ were harnessed abreast so they could spread out in a fan-shaped team. Usually seven or nine dogs made such a team, and the burden for each was about 150 pounds. Many dogs were also in the employ of the United States government in Alaska, to carrying mail.
Hounds are still employed in police departments of many large American and European cities, where they aid in capturing criminals. The use of various kinds of dogs as hunters of game is common everywhere. The collie is a famous shepherd dog. Stories about the rescuing of lost travelers in the Alps by the great Saint Bernard, and the saving of the drowning by those strong swimmers, the Newfoundlands, are numerous, interesting and true.
Not only can various breeds of dogs be trained to hunt, but even the mongrel part of the household has intelligence keen enough to be taught various tricks: to beg, to, speak, to fetch, carry and do various simple acrobatic feats. A sharp reproof will be more effective than blows, and a kindly word will bring forgetfulness of former harshness and will call forth that sign of devotion, a grateful wag of the tail.
Cleanliness and freedom from draughts are as necessary to the dog as to man; these will guard against the disease known as distemper. To remove fleas, that burden of a dog's life, careful bathing is necessary. Under favorable circumstances a dog will live for fifteen years. Even with the best of care, however, it is liable to disease. The worst of these is rabies, or hydrophobia (see Hydrophobia). If a human being is bitten by an animal suffering with rabies, the disease will be imparted to the person bitten.
A dog can go longer without meat than without water, so his special water-pan should always be kept filled. One meal a day for a grown dog is considered sufficient; that may be of dog biscuit or the coarse scraps from the table, with not too much meat. A dog, to look best and to show most intelligence, should be neither fat nor lean, but just sleek. The occasional bone should not be forgotten, for gnawing on a bone keeps the dog's teeth sharp, and forms part of its amusement, too. Who has not watched a dog carefully bury its bone and then later seen another unearth it?
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| All in one family: coyote, fennec, jackal, wolf, fox, bull-dog, collie, and Newfoundland. |
