A DOG WITH A HEART.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume X, Issue 2, 14 January 1893, Page 47

A DOG WITH A HEART.

Here is a pathetic little story illustrative of the affection that may be cultivated between a dog and a cat, and being a true story makes it all the more worthy of telling. A family in this city had a dog about fourteen years old and a cat about nine, both of which they had raised. Between these animals the most marked affection sprang up, and they were inseparable friends. They ate together, slept together, and played together, and if by chance they became separated they each showed in the most marked manner their discomfort and unhappiness. If the cat got out of the house the dog whined most persistently and dolefully until she came back, and if the dog happened to be absent the cat acted in a similar manner. A short time apo the cat died, and it was then her companion manifested the most unmistakable signs of distress. He pushed her body around with his nose, apparently trying to wake her, all the while whining in the most woe-begone manner. A little boy in the family, whose constant companion the animals had been, decided to bury his dead friend, and, securing a box, put the body in it, and, after nailing on the lid, carried it into the garden, dug a hole, and after placing it therein covered it, as he supposed, securely. In the meantime the dog moped about the house, refusing either to eat or drink, and looked so distressed that it was painful to see him. One day the boy noticed that the dog’s nose and head were covered with mud, aud the thought at once struck him that he had found his friend’s grave and had tried to resurrect the body. He went into the garden and found that his suspicions were correct. The dog bad actually dug down and uncovered the box, but as the lid was securely nailed on be could not bring the body to the surface. The dog followed the boy to the grave, aud whined and howled piteously while the boy made arrangements to re-inter the cat. After a good many days the dog giadually came back to his appetite, and, though still more or less doleful, has apparently regained his normal condition. This is a homely little story, but it has one merit—it is strictly true.