PREFACE 



I AM told, it is indispensable there should be a 

 Preface to this little work; but I am quite at a loss 

 what to put in it. What I had to say on the subject 

 upon which it treats, I have said in the book, and I am 

 not aware of any thing I wish to add or withdraw. I 

 can only hope the perusal of the book may afford as 

 much pleasure to my readers as the writing it has 

 given me, in recalling pleasant memories of many 

 friends, both two and four-footed, some of whom have 

 long since " joined the majority." As recording the 

 impressions of one who has had considerable practical 

 experience with many varieties of the canine race, and 

 been brought into constant contact with the best speci- 

 mens, I think my book is somewhat out of the usual 

 run of doggy books. While in no wise seeking to pro- 

 duce a scientific treatise, nor yet a natural history, in the 

 ordinary acceptation of the term, my wish has been so 

 to write on the subject as to stir up in the minds of 

 any of my readers, unacquainted with the many charms 

 possessed by dogs, a desire to adopt some kind of dog 

 as a companion and friend, and to confirm the affection 

 and regard of my multitudinous dog-loving friends, so 

 that they may be disposed to extend the borders of their 



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