THE DOG 



felt itself attracted to man ; but it is cer- 

 tain that individual self-interest, both in 

 man and beast, played a chief part in that 

 treaty of friendship. The fires where they 

 could warm themselves, the mounds <if 

 slaughtered game, must have brought the 

 wild dogs, or the canine animals, near to 

 man ; while the bones of dogs found in the 

 oldest human caves of the Stone Age prove 

 that man sought and attracted the dog — 

 to feed upon him. 



Therefore it seems that there was self- 

 interest on both sides. But this selfishness 

 was destined to have fortunate results, for 

 interests in common soon bear fruit. In the 

 first place, the supreme question for both 

 was how to procure food ; ne.xt, how to be 

 able to defend themselves in their painful 

 struggle for existence. These two natural 

 necessities made closer contact desirable, 

 and primitive man was intelligent enough 

 to see in the dog a skillful hunter and a 

 brave defender. The dog, on his side, 

 must have found great advantages in the 

 neighborhood of man. Through the thick veil 

 that covers the primitive epoch of our planet 

 we early see the dog and man forming com- 

 panionship, while the other animals, 

 domesticated later, keep them- 

 selves at a distance, fierce 

 and distrustful. 



II. Appreci.\tion 



THROUGH THE AgES 



Dogs have always 

 been held in great 

 esteem, especially in 

 Europe and America. 

 It is true that in ci\'ilized 

 countries men no longer 

 shave their heads on the 

 death of a favorite doc;, as 



was the ancient custom in 



Egyptian families, but admiration 



is never lacking. Xenophon called ^ i'le\s\nt .Meeti 



the dog an " invention of the gods." greater vigilance. In the Low Coun- 



Among the Greeks, his compatriots, hunting tries, later, rigorous severity was shown against 



was an art practiced with the greatest precision, heedless or criminal dogs. It was thus that the 



Ready for .\ Se.x B.^th 



and their poets praised to the skies the excel- 

 lent qualities of hunting dogs. Homer, father 

 of Greek poesy, devotes many lines to those 

 animals. Mythology represents them 

 IS powerful and miraculous. The 

 Romans employed them as 

 fighters in the arena, and 

 to a lesser degree in the 

 chase ; but by the great 

 quantity of dog flesh 

 which they offered in 

 sacrifice to the gods, 

 we see in what high 

 esteem they held the 

 animal. The Romans, 

 moreover, gave dogs a 

 good, though severe, edu- 

 cation ; and once a year they 

 whipped them all soundly be- 

 cause they did not bark at the attack 

 j^.g on the Capitol, when the geese showed 



