46 DOGS 



story, which may be of interest to some of your readers. 

 On Wednesday, March 18, on returning from the market 

 town of Newton Abbot, the butcher found the dog a 

 stranger to him lying in his stable, apparently on 

 friendly terms with his old grey horse. Cracking his whip, 

 he drove the animal out of the yard, and closed the gate. 

 A little later, while sitting at tea with his wife in the room 

 behind the shop, he heard a loud crash, and, thinking 

 a side of beef had fallen down, he ran out, to find the 

 sheep-dog again, who had leaped in from the road over 

 the slab into the shop, and was lying there quietly, not 

 attempting to touch the meat. Again he was driven away, 

 and trotted off down the road, where he met and van- 

 quished a noted local champion " boxer," who was lying 

 in wait for him. At 10 o'clock that night, on going out 

 to lock up, the butcher found the dog again lying at his 

 gate. Touched by the animal's pluck and pertinacity 

 " The creetur weant take ' naw ' fur an answer, miss, 

 and he'm tu gude a man for ' Boxer ' " the butcher let 

 him in, and allowed him to sleep in the stable. The fol- 

 lowing day the dog was recognized by an acquaintance as 

 belonging to a farmer named Elliot, who holds three 

 farms : one seven miles up the coast, another three miles 

 down the coast, and a third thirty miles inland, the other 

 side of Exeter. The butcher therefore kept the dog for a 

 week, and next market-day Wednesday, March 25 he 

 took him to Newton Abbot and returned him to Farmer 

 Elliot, who took him away the same afternoon to his 

 distant farm near Exeter. About 9 o'clock next morning 

 the butcher received a telegram from Elliot " Dog left 

 here at 6.15 " and about a quarter of an hour later the 

 dog ran into the shop, rather dusty, but not at all dis- 

 tressed, having run the thirty miles in three hours. His 

 self-chosen master finds him very clever and useful in the 

 business, and is negotiating the purchase of him from 

 Farmer Elliot. So devotedly has the dog attached himself 

 to the butcher that when, whilst driving a bargain with 



