A DOG'S HUMANITY.
[April 18, 1891.]
Possibly it is from an excess of the "maudlin sentimentality" of which physiologists complain in those who protest against cruelty to animals, that I find it almost painful to read such pathetic stories of dogs as the one given by Miss Cobbe in the Spectator of April 11th; for they tell of such intelligence and devotion, that, remembering the inhuman way in which our poor dogs are too often treated, we feel it would be almost better if they lacked these human qualities.
The following is an anecdote of the same kind, that ever since I heard it, I have been intending to send it to the Spectator. The servant-man of one of my friends took a kitten to a pond with the intention of drowning it. His master's dog was with him, and when the kitten was thrown into the water, the dog sprang in and brought it back safely to land. A second time the man threw it in, and again the dog rescued it; and when for the third time the man tried to drown it, the dog, as resolute to save the little helpless life as the man was to destroy it, swam with it to the other side of the pool, running all the way home with it, and safely depositing it before the kitchen fire; and "ever after" they were inseparable, sharing even the same bed!
When not long ago I came across the noble sentiment that "hecatombs of brutes should be tortured, if man thereby could be saved one pang," I found myself dimly wondering what constituted a "brute." Certainly, in the incident I have just given, the "brute" was not the dog!
S. W.
A CANINE MEMBER OF THE S.P.C.A.
[June 18, 1892.]
If you think this little anecdote of canine friendliness worthy of the Spectator, will you insert it for me? Last week a sick dog took up its abode in the field behind our house, and after seeing the poor thing lying there for some time, I took it food and milk-and-water. The next day it was still there, and when I was going out to feed it, I saw that a small pug was running about it, so I took a whip out with me to drive it away. The pug planted itself between me and the sick dog, and barked at me savagely, but at last I drove it away, and again gave food and milk-and-water to my protegé. The little pug watched me for a few moments, and as soon as he felt quite assured that my intentions towards the sick dog were friendly, it ran to me wagging its tail, leapt up to my shoulder, and licked my face and hands, nor would it touch the water till the invalid had had all it wanted. I suppose that it was satisfied that its companion was in good hands, for it trotted happily away, and did not appear upon the scene again.