148 OUR HOME PETS 



puppy of almost any breed may be bought at 

 a low price. Usually ten or fifteen dollars will 

 procure a promising specimen of a kind that, 

 when safely past his first year, will bring from 

 seventy-five dollars to twenty-five thousand 

 dollars, at which price some valuable animals 

 are held. 



In making choice, one hint may be useful. 

 After seeing that all the " points " which show 

 good blood are present, the buyer should look 

 carefully on the body behind the fore-legs, and 

 also behind the ears, for indications of irrita- 

 tion, and promptly reject the most promising 

 dog who shows any such sign. Shaking the 

 head is also an evidence of disease which 

 should not be unheeded. 



" For ways that are dark, 



And tricks that are [not always] vain," 



the dog-dealer has a reputation second only to 

 that of the horse-dealer. One needs to go 

 armed with accurate knowledge, and even then 

 a thoroughly informed friend, or a responsible 

 agent, is safer. It would undoubtedly be bet- 

 ter to buy at the kennels, of which New York 

 has several readily accessible, than to take 

 one's pet at second-hand. 



