355 



£M 



^iS^ 



A LITTER OF AIREDALES BY HUCKLEBERRY FINN 

 Plwtog'apli by H. \V. NichoUs. 



CHAPTER XXXVI. 



THE AIREDALE TERRIER. 



BY \V.\LTER S. GLYXN. 



" The rustic dames 

 Shall at thy kennel wait, and in their laps 

 Receive thy growing hopes ; with many a kiss 

 Caress, and dignify their little charge 

 With some great title, and resounding name 

 Of high import." 



— SOMERVILLE. 



THERE is perhaps no breed of dog that 

 in so short a time has been improved 

 so much as the Airedale. He is now 

 a very beautiful animal, whereas but a few 

 years back, although maybe there were a 

 few fairly nice specimens, by far the greater 

 number were certainly the reverse of this. 

 In place of the shaggy, soft-coated, ugly- 

 coloured brute with large hound ears and 

 big full eyes, we have now a very handsome 

 creature, possessing aU the points that go 

 to make a really first-class terrier of taking 

 colour, symmetrical build, full of character 

 and " go," amply justifying — in looks, at 

 any rate — its existence as a terrier. 



Whether it is common sense to call a dog 

 weighing 40 lb. to 50 lb. a terrier is a ques- 

 tion that one often hears discussed. The 

 fact remains the dog is a terrier — a sort of 

 glorified edition of what we understand by 

 the word, it is true, but in points, looks, 



and character, a terrier nevertheless, and 

 it is impossible otherwise to classify him. 



People will ask : " How can he be a 

 terrier ? Why, he is an outrage on the 

 very word, which can only mean a dog to 

 go to ground ; and to what animal in the 

 country of his birth can an Airedale go to 

 ground ? " Above ground and in water, 

 however, an Airedale can, and does, per- 

 form in a very excellent manner everything 

 that any other terrier can do. As a water 

 dog he is, of course, in his element ; for work 

 on land requu-ing a hard, strong, fast and 

 resolute terrier he is, needless to say, of 

 great value ; and he is said to be also, when 

 trained — as can easily be imagined when 

 one considers his power of scent, his strength, 

 sagacity, and speed — a most excellent gun- 

 dog. He is, in fact, a general utihty dog, 

 for add to the above-mentioned qualities 

 those of probably an incomparable guard 



