282 TOUR IN SUTHERL ANDS H I RE. 



fairly beaten and bullied, that he never again annoyed them 

 or me by rushing out upon them as we passed by the place, 

 as he had always been in the habit of doing before he re- 

 ceived his drubbing. 



Unluckily, dogs, like men, will grow old and deaf, and 

 become a burthen to themselves and others. Life is then no 

 longer a matter of enjoyment to them : and the most merci- 

 ful thing to do is to have the poor animal shot. But we do 

 not always practise what we preach ; and although I am 

 quite convinced that having a dog killed when old, infirm, 

 and rheumatic is doing him a kindness, I could never bring 

 myself to order the execution of any of my old canine 

 friends. 



Hanging a dog is barbarous ; but when shot he can feel 

 but little pain, and he will be in the paradise the " happy 

 hunting-grounds " of dogs before he hears the report of the 

 gun which sends him there, and he can have no anticipation, 

 or only for a moment, of what is about to be done to him. I 

 must admit, however, that I was once told, and by a credible 

 person, an anecdote which went to impugn this theory. His 

 dog having been convicted of sheep-killing, he told a man to 

 shoot him the following morning. The dog was lying in the 

 room at the time, and apparently listening to the conversation. 

 Whether he understood it or not, I will not pretend to 

 determine ; but the very first time the door was open he 

 bolted out, and never again came within reach of his old 

 master. This seems rather a stretch of canine intelligence, 

 but it was told me as a true story ; and I am convinced that 

 the relater, who was the master of the dog, believed it him- 

 self. 



But I must close my chapter on this subject, as I shall 

 become insufferably prolix. 



