TRAINED BUT UNTAMEABLE.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 644, 22 October 1909, Page 4

TRAINED BUT UNTAMEABLE.

;S^; ; £: ; ::MI)LLE. ;,, OASSEM J rs:DqGB.'' .'■'''/■ dressing-rooms oti the. stage of the Opera/House is 'to all intents and purposes to be regarded/at pi;cscut as aquarantine station for tnerd. ftfo' ; .to 1)0 found eighteen tinyilo"s' ■ which havo only/just arrived in the Dominion, and ; which may not take a walk abroad. Tliav" are carefully whon they "go lor a Scnrapetit is down in tho cellar-'of' the Opera House..:-TheSe':aTe;;.the;.wo!)derli)l littlovjfexi- ■ ctiliiporfOrlliilife;ilog9.-which give such an extruordinarily clever. performance', every night. lldlle:-, ltosina; Cosselli, their clever'■ trainer, spends great part, of each , day with- her pet?, ■ and.it was to their, room that a representative ;of;Ti[E..poM.vx6N'.went in search otlior. ■'■iTliero; was;a'grcat'..tunmlt as. soon, as' the door" opened, and,, after "'hearing the clamour, it ;wft3 ftinazing-.tq see. how.■ very tiny ; were: the 'dogs;.which produced it. /Several cages- 'were ipiletfone nbovo.the other , ,and from oach com. p'artment peered'tho quaint, intelligent heads iotthiiso: littloChihuahua-dogs—some of them ■requiring '.a.wholo "compartment to themselves, others sharing' theirs with some apparent friendliness..' 'ilioy'afo Hinliko'any : other dotfa —these, little wild things.from the Mexican mountains. 'They are rather smaller than Ital.iari.'grcj^iounds;,. and,, they .have not the abroad" chesfi ..that!'distinguish', the best ; of those toy' 6reatu'res.v : i.Thcir colour, varies from .a pinkiw tan 'to gtey;.or "black and 'white,-, and. they have .longish""-tails' 'that .curl :iover '.'ftcir. backs, Their eyes, and;ears aro the biggest parts of ■thom',;;and';frpm -.th'o' , .shelter, of their, compart-'ments.'theso-'eycsi gleamed hko- huge' rubies' as ■they.'e'nnrled;and barkcd;with tiny fury at the ■Intruder;;' wliito their . largo . eomi-tTansparent ears—like the-ears'of a" bat—seemed' to quiver with thoir rage. . This unfriendly attitude wa? somothing".'of ■a ■ dienppointmtjit, for having hoard of their wonderful tractableness, the visitor, naturally . concluded that thoy : would be mildantf friendly, and, instead, they seohnid '.ready:to jufop'-ifrom; their, cages.in their vin.. 'diclivo desire to bite.' V i •,: .',• : •'■ ' '." "Oh, yes,".Raid Jldllo. Caeselli calmly, "they all bite. , . No, 'they don't bite me,; bill they s lnto pretty well noyono else. My niece, thero, they ..have nearly all bitten- her.. They aro the ,most : intelligent dogs in tho world,'but they oannqt bo '-tamed:.. These are all little wild dogs'from the;mounttiinsi I collected them at first as a'hobby, and, when I found how clover they .'.wore ht learning tricks, ,1 bought. still more. >i They are so; clever that they never have to, rehearse when wo come to a new place, and. they don't have to be kept in practice.- I hnvc.'.on ocoasion, boon as much ne fivo wooks without making them. do. their tHoks, and at the. end of that time they have been as good aa:o7cr.;.;U never" Seems -to'trouble them in the least', to.'ge - to'a , new stage; The apparatus is tliDroj and they know just what to do." ..It.seome :.thnt tlicso littlo dogs bplong to a dyltlß. race—that, Willi the extension. of the ■Mexican railway system, they are pushed, fur-. tber.'and further back into tho, mountains, up into, snowy regions. where they cannot . live. .Tho oldest of the troupe is thirteen years old, tintl hn9 , ,1-eached;nn. : nge ol; tolerance.-; Ho will not.bite,■'but'allows'.himself to be petted, and it is:not for some" time that the gratified visitor learaa,:tlie reiisbh of this; friendllliess. Ho .hns-.no.'lcoth.f.;;Ycuus,:againi the tiniest dog 'lmnftinable, - ii! to be friendly.. .She is a littlo.grey creature,-and; 'as she;feols the c01d,.-sho wears a .little flannel jacket, which mokes.her.look than ever. ' Montezumn is.the messenger-.'of little dog who ;hop3 across tho Stage on his hind-legs to say Ihit

the dof< toy motor-car has broken 1 'down.-. From;in his cngre fifc the top of the pile, MontezUnia glares with cnormons ruby eyas, nntl his liuce pink ears quiver distrustfully as. ho ceases his barkitnj.to take enreffll observations. He is ft. prtlish pinkish, yellow, and lias such on nppe»rance of transparency , thnt one imagines that if; he were put out in the ■ sunliriit one conldjspe. right ithrough him. These dogs are. all excessively nerrons, and it'is'difficult to imngine'how Mdlle. Casjslli orer mannged to. train them. But that is her secret. .