PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION, v 



Depend upon it, even Sir Henry Hawkins 

 has not yet reached that pitch of knowledge, 

 and though he doubtless understood Jack 

 better than anyone else, I feel sure that Jack, 

 as I have said, took in much more of his 

 conversation than he did of Jack's. But it 

 is far easier to point out our ignorance of 

 dog language, than to suggest a means for 

 surmounting that ignorance. Dogs are not 

 like apes or rooks, of a conversational turn, 

 and though they clearly communicate a great 

 deal to each other, it is difficult to see how 

 their language is to be studied. I doubt if 

 the American professor's plan would be of 

 much use, or if phonography in the kennels 

 would give us any facts to work on. 



Among the new stories in the present 

 edition will be found a further series illustrat- 

 ing the power of dogs to feel the emotions of 

 grief and of devotion for each other. There 

 are also some interesting letters making up a 

 fairly complete biography of Bob, the Austra- 

 lian Railway dog. Under the heading " More 

 Miscellaneous," will be found some exceed- 

 ingly strange and amusing stories. The story 



