260 USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING DOGS. 



THE DOGLESS BOY 



"But the poor dog, in life the firmest friend, 



The first to welcome, foremost to defend, 



Whose honest heart is still his master's own, 



Who labors, fights, lives, breathes for him alone." 



— Byron. 

 Boy is used here in a generic sense, for the love of animals, and espe- 

 cially dogs ,is not confined to either sex. We do not think a boy was ever 

 born who, if "entered" properly, would not love a dog when given the op- 

 portunity. There seems to be some affinity, between children and dogs. 

 The selfish cat may be a family pet, but its horizon of affection is usually 

 filled with a warm fireside and a saucer of milk and the claws within the 

 velvet are typical of its nature; uncertain of temperament and cruel even 

 in its seeming play. Not so the dog. It matters not whether his lineage 

 proclaims him a blue blood or a mongrel, there is something behind the eye 

 of a dog which draws to the heart. No animal is so responsive to the hu- 

 manizing effect as the dog. His idiosyncracies and temperament are, like 

 those of man, much a matter of environment. Cuff him and treat him 

 generally as an Ishmael and he becomes one, treat him like so many are 

 in kennels nowadays, as a mere chattel to be housed and fed as one of a 

 number and he becomes a mere automaton; but treat him as a friend, as 

 one of your household and how soon the human influence is marked. His 

 ideas are widened, his intelligence develops and the many beautiful traits 

 of a confiding, honest nature which have earned him the title of man's 

 best friend, are brought to the surface. Though the society of man has 

 a humanizing effect on our four-footed friends, the dog himself in no less 

 manner, through his transparent temperament and honest actions may sug- 

 gest and encourage the same traits in the budding nature of his little friend. 

 Every boy should own a dog. Josh Billings well said that in the whole 

 history of the world there is but one thing that money cannot buy, to wit: 

 "The wag of a dog's tail." He might have added there is no animal on 

 God's earth who, in the honesty of his affection, will still love and wag 

 his tail for the hand which beats him. The love of Bill Sykes' dog for his 

 brutal master is one of the sublimest thoughts Dickens ever conceived. 



The boy who is raised with a dog for a "pal" is unwillingly humanized. 

 The love for another is engendered in his heart, and afterward has its 

 effect on his conduct in the wide world of mankind. Be his nature cruel, 

 more from thoughtlessness than any inherent feeling, if he is a lad worth 

 his salt he cannot but learn a lesson from the mild reproach of the brute 

 he torments. 



A horse would kick, a cat would bite or scratch under the same pro- 

 vocation; not so the dog. There are exceptions, of course, but no dog, we 

 believe, is born savage; if he develops bad temper it is generally due to 

 environment, and the parent's judgment must be exercised in providing the 

 right sort of dog for the doy, as in other provisions for his welfare. A man 

 may become a lover of dogs when manhood's cares and responsibilities place 

 the dog on the same level as a favorite pipe. He has missed something. 

 He will not "get into" his dog as he would have done as a boy. Once a 

 dog lover always a dog lover, no matter whether the circumstances of his 

 after life compel him to love them from afar. The dog is the better for it 

 and so is the man. Buy your son a dog. — H. W. L. 



HOW TO WASH A DOG. 



Use luke warm water in summer, but in winter it can be warmer. Wash 

 almost any place in summer, except in a windy place; but in winter do it 

 in a warm room. A couple of baths a week in summer are sufficient for 



