THE KENNEL.

Otago Witness, Issue 2817, 4 March 1908, Page 35

THE KENNEL.

Bi Tkbbob.

Faooleri am! breeders of don «J« cordially Inrltad to eon« trlbutt iMmi to thli column. "Terror " will endetvour to mskf kUd«partm*Dt v interutlog aj)d up-to-date v poiilble, bat In «r4er to do ttaii he malt li»Tt the co-oseration ot hti reader*, b«»c« fa* trust* thii invitation will be cheerfully responded to.

—Mr R Stan ton, so long! known as a leading bulldog fancier of Dunedin, has a fine litter of pups from his winning bullbitch Auchentree Spot by his Austra-lian-bred dog Gentleman Jack. The two dogs kept of the litter (the rest, unfortunately, succumbed) are doing welj. la colour they are fawn and white, and as their sire and dam are bulldogs of quality they etould turn out well. | —Mr T. Snow has been unfortunate in losing his bullbitch Little Dorrit. It was Mr flnow's custom to keep this bitch in the country. He saw her nt and well only a few day 6 previous to receiving the report of her death. He has ho information as to the cause of death. Little. Dorrit was bred by Mr R. Stanton, and was just past three years old. She was benched in Dunedin a'f. the two last shows, and was in the money in 'five classes, including first Novice. Fortunately Mr Snow has two bitoh puppies, about six weeks old, from Little Dorrit, and he has deckled to keep these. Fanciers - will wish " Mr Snow every success. — The Mackenzie Collie Dog Club's eighteenth annual meeting is to be held at Burkes Pass on the 26th and 1 27 th inst. There will be four classes for competing dogs— i.e., Maiden event. Pull, Tard, and Drive, Lcng. Pull, and Huntaway. Prizes to be awarded include a gold medal, value two guineas, to the dog scoring most judge s points in classes 2, 3, and 4, and a silver medal to the second dog. Two pounds ' go to the best team of three dogs, one in each of the classes 2, 3, and 4. Mr J. M'Millan acts as hon. seoretary and treasurer. j

AN AMERICAN TRIBUTE TO THE DOG. One of the most beautiful tributes ever paid to the dog came from the lips of George Graham Vest, the distinguished Missourian, who has recently retired to private' life, after a long and honourable career in the United States Senate. Senator Vest has long been recognised as a most forceful and eloquent orator, and hia speeches have been widely read for many years. It is doubtful, however, if in all his distinguished career he has ever made «* speech whioh i»»s T>e<sn more widely quoted or more universally appreciated than his impromptu remarks on the dog, made many years ago in a country town. Shortly after the Civil War, when he was a young man, just beginning the practice of law, and without the fame which has since become his, he happened to be in attendance upon a term of the Johnson County Circuit Court, at Warrepsburgr, Missouri. A suit for damages for the killing of a dog was on the docket, and was in due time' called. Voluminous evidence was introduced to show that the defendant had'^shot the dog in malice, while other evidence tended to show the dog had attacked the man. There were attorneys engaged in this case who, if not then, have since become famous. Senator F. M. Cookrell and Ex-Governor T. T. Crittenden defended, while Judge John Phillips, now of the United States District Court, and Colonel Wells H. Blodgett represented the owner. Senator Vert was not employed in the case, but was invited to speak for the plaintiff. I It is stated by those who were present at the trial that at the outset he took no apparent interest in the case, made no notes, and seemed preoccupied throughout the hearing of the testimony. Certainly he made no reference to any testimony introduced, but arose in his always quiet and dignified manner, deliberately scanned the face of each juror, and in a soft, low tone, unaccompanied by gesture of any kind, , began his address: I Gentlemen of the Jury,— The best friend a man has in the wond may turn against him, and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he rn-iy lose. It flies away from him, perhaps when he needs it most.^ A man s reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action. The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us henour when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads. j The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him, the' one that never proves ungrateful or treaoherou?, is his dog)L A man's dog stands by him, in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only ha may be near his master's side. He will kisfls the hand that has no food to offer; he will liok the wounds and sores that come in encounter with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of the pauper master as if he were a prince. ' When all other friends desert he remains. When riches take wings, and reputation falls to pieces, he is a« constant in his love as the sun in its journeys through the heavens. | If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher I privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fidht against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace, and his body is ' laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their .way, | there J by the graveside wilf the noble dog be found, bis head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true even in death. .The effect of the speech is said to have held the courtroom audience spellbound, and when Senator Vest concluded his relharke - there -was not a dry eye in the house. --The" case was submitted to the jury without further" argument, and in a -rery few moments they returned a verdict in favour of the owner of the dog for tho full amount Mied for. The case pnally neaohed the Snpreme Court, where if was

affirmed, and is set forth in detail in the 50th Missouri Reports.