SOCIAL LIFE OF ANIMALS 493 



Senator Vest's Eulogy on the Dog 



" Gentlemen of the Jury: The best friend a man has in this world may- 

 turn against him and become his enemy. His son and daughter that he 

 has reared with loving care may become ungrateful. Those who are 

 nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and 

 our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a 

 man has he may lose. It flies away from him when he may need it most. 

 Man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill considered action. 

 The people who are prone to fall on their knees and do us honor when 

 success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when 

 failure settles its cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish 

 friend a man may have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts 

 him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is the dog. 



" Gentlemen of the Jury: A man's dog stands by him in prosperity and 

 poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, 

 when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may 

 be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to 

 offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the 

 roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if 

 he were a prince. 



"When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings 

 and reputation falls to pieces he is as constant in his love as the sun in 

 its journey through the heavens. If fortune drives the master forth an 

 outcast into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no 

 higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against 

 danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes 

 and death takes his 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 and 

 his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to 

 death." " 



* The dog that called forth this tribute to canine affection and fidelity was Drum, 

 a foxhound, owned in Johnson County, Missouri. He was shot by a man who was 

 later sued for damages by Drum's owner. Learned counsel were engaged by both 

 sides and the case was finally tried before a jury in the State Circuit Court, in 1870. 

 The late U. S. Senator George G. Vest made the closing plea for the plaintiff, the 

 peroration of which is printed above. Court, lawyers and audience were entranced by 

 it. Heavy damages were awarded the plaintiff, and Vest's Eulogy on the Dog stands 

 as the most eloquent and touching tribute ever paid to man's faithful friend. Cour- 

 tesy of American Humane Education Society, Boston. 



