174 The King of the Thundering Herd 



days for Shep. His paw swelled to twice its 

 natural size, and pained him constantly. 

 He was obliged to lie still by the river and 

 doctor his wound the best he could. He 

 dug a small hole in the clay bank of the 

 river and buried his paw in the clay. This 

 helped to draw out the inflammation. 



Finally the brave dog performed a sur- 

 gical operation. Biting open the upper side 

 of his paw, although it made him whimper 

 and quiver, he got hold of the end of the 

 stub with his teeth and pulled it out. He 

 then rinsed and rinsed the throbbing paw 

 in the river, thus washing out all the pus, 

 and finally began a licking process which 

 he kept up every few minutes for a day or 

 two. It was surprising how soon under 

 this simple ministration the wound began 

 to heal. 



It is not generally known, but a dog's 

 saliva is both antiseptic and healing, so that 

 when the dog licked the sores of Lazarus, 



