142 THE BOSTON TERRIER 



the recent shows must have noticed the ten- 

 dency toward a lengthening in many of the 

 tails of the dogs on the bench. Some dogs 

 have been awarded high honors which carried 

 "more than the law allows", owing doubtless 

 to their other excellent qualities. While I per- 

 sonally believe in a happy medium, never lose 

 sight of the fact that a good short screw tail 

 has always been, and, I believe, will always 

 remain a leading characteristic of the Ameri- 

 can dog. 



In selecting a stud dog be certain his tail is 

 O. K. The bitch can very well afford to carry 

 a longer one, and usually whelps better on this 

 account. I know of nothing more discourag- 

 ing in the Boston terrier game than to have a 

 litter of choice puppies in every other respect, 

 but off in tails. 



While writing on the subject of tails, it may 

 not be out of place to note an interesting fact 

 in connection with this at the earliest history 

 of our little dog. Mr. John Barnard became 

 the possessor of Tom, afterward known as 

 Barnard's Tom. This was the first Boston ter- 

 rier to rejoice in a screw tail. Mr. Barnard 

 did not know what to make of it, so he took 

 the pup to old Dr. Saunders, a well known and 

 respected veterinary surgeon of the day, to 

 have the tail, if possible, put into splints and 

 straightened T guess there have been quite 



