SUICIDE. 133 



dered its course of action, exhibited for a time hesitancy, 

 but at last came to a decision, and acted upon it with 

 promptness and resolution. It preferred death to its expe- 

 rience of life, and refused to allow itself to be saved. 



In another instance, cited by the same author, the dog 

 was old, diseased, distracted with pain. It, too, drowned 

 itself with the utmost deliberation, first casting a last piteous, 

 ' longing, lingering look ' at its master, who had suspected it 

 of being affected by, and probably had discarded it for the 

 suspected, rabies. 



An old collie (shepherd's dog) in Caithness, troubled with 

 the infirmities of age, including deafness and the loss of 

 teeth, in 1876 committed suicide here again by drowning. 

 * Evidently age was a burden to him. The day before the 

 last scene in the drama was enacted, he was observed to take 

 a general survey of the locality he was about to quit for ever 

 in a very shaky way. He then wended his way over ground 

 familiar to him in his hunting days to the sea- shore a dis- 

 tance of about two miles and without taking a longing, 

 lingering look behind he plunged into the sea and expired. 

 The act was witnessed by a number of persons on the 

 shore.' l 



A Newfoundland dog ' of great age ' had its feelings 

 wounded by being scolded, beaten in pretence only by means 

 of a pocket handkerchief, and having a door shut in his 

 face when about to leave a room with his usual companions 

 a nurse and her group of children. Soon after he was 

 found alive, but with his head altogether or partly sub- 

 merged in a ditch. He was dragged out. But now he 

 refused to eat or drink, and before long he was found in the 

 same position in the same ditch, but this time dead. He 

 had succeeded in this second determined attempt at drown- 

 ing, having failed in securing his purpose with sufficient 

 rapidity and directness by starvation. 



A dog that had broken both his hind legs lingered on in 

 agony. At length, dragging his mutilated limbs along, he 

 ' sought the nearest pond, and deliberately went into deep 



1 'Northern Ensign,' July 20, 1876. 



