Dogs. 19 



very long standing, and it is due to the desire for improv- 

 ing nature, for turning natural things as far as possible 

 into artificial things, which is instinctive in mankind and 

 leads to the most useful results ; but this is one of its false 

 directions. People who are only partially civilised do not 

 see where they ought to respect nature, and where to 

 make alterations ; so they cannot leave anything alone. 

 The highest civilisation does little more than remove im- 

 pediments to perfect natural growth, and accepts the 

 divine ideals as the ideals towards which it strives. The 

 best practical way to prevent people from mutilating dogs 

 is, not to reason on the subject (for reason is far too weak 

 to contend against custom), but to employ ridicule. I 

 make it a rule to tell everybody who keeps a mutilated 

 dog, that his dog is both ugly and absurd ; and if a good 

 many people hear me, so much the better. There is 

 another very common sort of cruelty to dogs, which might 

 easily be prevented by the exercise of a little common 

 sense. Many dog-owners, especially kind-hearted but 

 weak-minded ladies, are accustomed to injure their pets by 

 giving them too much food and too little exercise. Pam- 

 pered dogs are certainly not the happiest dogs. Only look 

 at them ! Can a creature which was intended by nature 

 for the most exuberant activity be said to enjoy life when 

 it can hardly waddle across a carpet ? There is not an 

 honest doctor who, after examining the teeth and breath, 

 and observing the digestion of these wretched martyrs to 

 mistaken kindness, will not tell you that they have no 

 genuine health, and without that neither dog nor man can 

 be happy. If you really care about making your dog 

 happy, the way to do so is both extremely simple and per- 

 fectly well known. Feed him regularly and moderately, 

 see that his bodily functions go as they ought to do, and 



