264 USEFUL INFORMATION REGARDING DOGS. 



prison — and just think how he has suffered, and don't wonder if he comes 

 home sick. If you can go yourself — with your dog — to care for him, do 

 this, but never send him to a dog show alone. Get a handler, if you can 

 find a good man, who, aside from handling as a business, really loves dogs, 

 and you think will care for the dog — as the writer does — and be willing 

 to pay him his price for handling — for your dog deserves the best care he 

 can get. 



I am prepared to receive and condition dogs previous to shows. At 

 every show, without any exceptions, I see dogs on their bench — neglected — 

 and while it is impossible for me to attend to them all, yet I always do 

 and sometimes exercise, if I possibly can. 



DOGS AS CHILDREN'S PETS 



Nothing in the world is more natural than the child's desire for pets. 

 There are few children who do not early manifest a strong inclination for 

 something to love, and this imperative desire, if fostered, becomes a power- 

 ful agency for the child's growth of character. Every little girl loves her 

 doll, but often she becomes dissatisfied and longs for something alive, 

 something which will return her caresses. A mother who has a growing 

 family must do something to keep the little hands and minds busy, and at 

 the same time out of mischief. Perhaps the mother is very busy, or if she 

 gives the matter any thought, she may dislike animals and consider cats 

 a nuisance, dogs noisy, birds a great care, rabbits destructive, and white 

 rats dirty. She may wonder why the children do not love their home and 

 how it is they are always teasing to visit that home where the children 

 have pets of various kinds, "a perfect menagerie," as she scornfully calls 

 it. Alas! How many mothers and fathers .cherich their selfish ease and 

 consult their convenience, without a thought of finding their highest en- 

 joyment in the true development of their children. 



"Our first plea in favor of children owning pets is the desire for per- 

 sonal possession which every child has. The- wish for something that shall 

 belong exclusively to himself and be cared for by him. This care, this re- 

 sponsibility, can not fail to make a boy more manly and a girl more wo- 

 manly.' The thought for food and comfort of the little animals tends to 

 develop all that is strong and tender in the child's nature. Show us a 

 boy or a girl that is cruel or brutal to animals and we will show you a child 

 sure to come to some bad end; but the child who early learns kindness 

 and gentleness to the brute creation will also manifest the same spirit 

 toward his fellow creatures. • • . .....' 



"Children are, as a rule, fond of animals; and by no means can kind- 

 ness be so thoroughly inculcated in them as by the care of pets. 



"People who do not love animals have something seriously wrong 

 in their constitution. A great man once said, 'I would not give much for 

 that man's religion whose dog and cat are not the better for it.' A man 

 who kicks his dog and beats his horse will abuse his wife and children. 

 When you encourage a child in the care and gentle treatment of all crea- 

 tures, you influence him to become a true gentleman or gentlewoman, and 

 you give the world one who will expand in life and become a tender 

 father and worthy citizen. Every child should know at a nearly age that 

 sincere kindness in all relations of life is highest Christianity. * * * 

 Allow the children a pet dog, because dogs are so devoted, so intelligent, so 

 faithful that they are ready to sacrifice their lives for those they love. 



"Once kind to animals always kind, and the man or woman whose 

 heart is touched by the dumb look of dependence or unselfish interest in 



