322 THE VETERINARY DOCTOR. 
not subjected to any influences that would induce change. They dwell 
together according to their kind, often in packs or herds, and inbreed to a 
degree that would be ruinous but for the wise provision of nature which, 
through their ferocity and the law of force, secures the survival of the fit- 
test, and these, from the prepotency of past consanguineous unions and the un- 
varying character of life generation after generation, naturally reproduce 
the typical characteristics of the race. Domestication has changed other 
animals as radically as it has the dog. Climatic influences and the demand 
for new and different services, tending to induce breeders to develop classes 
capable of meeting these demands, are sufficient to account for even the 
variations in size and instinctive qualities which the dog of to-day displays. 
Upon any other theory it would be difficult to trace to a common ancestor 
such different types as the mastiff, weighing nearly two hundred pounds, and 
the toy-terrier, weighing only a few ounces; the setter, pointer, spaniel and 
hound, each instinctively taking to the pursuit of game, but each in different 
form from the others; the bull-dog, with his brutal instincts, and the New- 
foundland, with his amiable character and half-human intelligence. But when 
we remember that the most exaggerated specimens have been evolved from 
less-contrasting ancestors within the few years that fashion or special need 
has made them objects of desire, we can more easily regard them as abso- 
lute productions, and comprehend the effects of circumstances and influences 
extending back to the early ages of the world. 
The dog is, of all animals, essentially the friend and companion of inan. 
From the earliest times of which we have any record we find him a dweller 
in the tent of his master, the playfellow of his children, his assistant in the 
chase, his guard at night, at all times a servant “faithful even unto death.” 
The most ancient pictures and the sculpture of exhumed cities unite with 
poets and painters of modern times to commend his courage and devotion, 
and make the dog a synonym of constancy and zeal. Other animals share 
his servitude, and some may by circumstances or the peculiarities of their 
owners be admitted to companionship ina greater or less degree. The 
wild tribes of the desert necessarily depend upon their horses for both sub- 
sistence and safety in danger, and the love of an Arab for his horse, with 
the intelligence the latter acquires from the association, is well known to 
all who have read the history of the nomadic races. The cat is the favor- 
ite with some, but the cruelty and the treachery of his disposition unfit him 
for the general trust and affection given to the nobler dog. Individual fan- 
cies occasionally induce the admission of other animals into similar relations, 
but of all the brutes the dog alone is the ordinary associate of man, and a 
reasonable study of his habits and disposition will convince one that he is 
justly entitled to the distinction. 
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