144 British War Dogs 



animal kingdom, but which are now, thank God, rapidly 

 breaking down. 



It is often considered a curious fact, that the dog 

 receives such unfair treatment in the Bible, and those who 

 love the " Good Book " and also the dog, find it difficult 

 to reconcile the two points of view. This is easily ex- 

 plained, however, especially when what I have already 

 pointed out is considered, in connection with the relation- 

 ship of the dog to the mind of his master, and when it is 

 remembered that the Bible is a Jewish book, and that the 

 dog was held to be unclean by this race. 



In spite of this attitude, however, on the part of the Jews, 

 it would appear that at one time they must have had a 

 high understanding of the dog, as we find that Caleb, 

 the faithful and discerning spy of Israel, seems to have had 

 the sense of faithfulness attached to him, and that his name 

 means " Dog of God." 



Renan, writing on this in his " History of the People of 

 Israel," says : 



" Often with names of this kind, ' El' " (which means 

 God) " was omitted, Irham being used instead of Irhamel, 

 Caleb instead of Calbel. This last name, irregular as it 

 is, need not create any surprise, for Dog of El was an 

 energetic way of expressing the faithful attachment of 

 a tribe to the God to which it had devoted itself." 



It will be remembered, that when Moses sent a repre- 

 sentative of each of the tribes to spy out the land, " flowing 

 with milk and honey," Caleb was the only one of them, 

 who showed fidelity to the Lord's command, and recom- 

 mended that the children of Israel should go forward and 

 possess it, and also the courage to believe it could be done. 

 Whereas, the other spies allowed their fear of the fierce 

 and gigantic people of the land, completely to obscure the 



