ANIMALS, VALUE OF

163 Man’s Best Friend

While practicing law, George G. Vest, a former U. S. Senator from Missouri, defended a farmer whose dog was involved in a minor damage suit. Here is part of his speech:

“The one absolutely unselfish friend that man can have in this selfish world, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. … When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.

“If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies.

“And, when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in his embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will be found the noble dog, his head between his paws, his sad eyes alert and watchful, still faithful and true even in death.”

With this impassioned plea, Vest won a favorable verdict from the jury.

164 Programmed Pets

The programming of family pets to perform various task and various deeds, good or evil as required, may be fairly common practice by the year 2000, according to an American psychologist.

Dr. Boris Levinson of Touro College in New York, a specialist on relationship between people and animals, said that by the end of the century, pets controlled by brain electrodes may become commonplace. Recent experiments make this a strong probability, he said.

It does not lie in the realm of science fiction. In a sense the electrodes will make the animal become living robots. They will be able to open doors, close windows, adjust beds and even call for help.

He said pets could even be used for warfare and for espionage and if the knowledge of the genetic engineering involved fell into the hands of insurgent groups they could be employed in bombings and in-plane hijackings. Criminals might use them in the commission of theft, robbery and even murder.

But he said most pets would play a highly beneficial role in society—“a very important safety valve in a sick society”—as specially trained companions of invalids, old people, childless couples and even astronauts.

—United Press International

165 Small Dogs In Long Space Trips

Specially bred small dogs will be essential companions for inter-stellar astronauts by the end of this century. By the year 2000, pets will be playing a critical role in long duration special flights. The astronauts would be subject not only to stress but to monotony, loneliness, lack of love and worry for the loved ones left on earth. This could cause impairment of judgment and faulty perception of physical phenomenon. To fill in the need, specially bred, small, compact animals with minimal food requirements will be sent on space missions.

—Reuter

166 When Human Helpers Fail

It happened in Hudson, Michigan, when lightning set fire to a farmer’s barn. In the barn were twenty-five cows, and Farmer Frank Brown thought of them instantly when he saw the outbreak of flame. However, in order to save the barn, he’d have to go for help quickly. No time to drive the cattle out. It was a dilemma, but Farmer Brown solved it. He whistled for his collie dog, Scotty, and, when Scotty came bounding to his side, he said: “Go in there and drive out those cows!” He was ordering the dog into the blazing barn.

Then the farmer ran for help, but help failed him in the emergency—that is, human help. When he returned, he found the barn a smoking ruin. But there, in the adjoining pasture, were the cows—all twenty-five of them—and Scotty was keeping them together.

—Selected

167 Dog Bark Saves Eleven

In Mahopac, NY, Princess, a pet collie, by barking furiously, roused a family of eleven one morning and led them safely from their home, which then burned to the ground. But Princess went back into the house and died of suffocation. No one knows why the dog went back into the burning house. Did it think that there was still someone to rescue? Was it willing to lay down its life in order to make sure that all in the family were safe?

—Prairie Overcomer

168 Collie Keeps 8-Year Vigil

The papers over the nation carried this touching story: King was the Collie’s name. How KINGLY he acted in daily visiting, for more than eight years, the grave of his master!

His master, Angelo Del Plato, was killed in a motor vehicle accident. King had delighted in romping with his master. At the graveside, King stood at the outskirts of the scene, and, as the casket was lowered into the ground, the bewildered dog watched with wonderment, seemingly a chief mourner at the solemnities.

Admiring friends said of King, “I can’t remember a single day, in the last eight years, that he hasn’t gone to the cemetery. He usually lies on Angelo’s grave a little while, and then comes home. When tied, he broke ropes and pulled down posts to get away to go to the master’s grave!”

—Walter B. Knight

169 Dog Keeps 10-Year Vigil

Hachi was a Japanese dog who used to accompany his master to the railroad station each morning and then greet him back in the evening at the station. One night in 1925, the man did not return, having died in another city. Although the little dog had met its master for only a few months previously, for over 10 years hence, the dog went to the station every night—sadly trotting home again after waiting an hour.

The faithfulness of Hachi impressed the nation so much that the government erected a statue of the dog on the spot where he had perseveringly waited—and then sent statuettes to all schools in the then Japanese empire.

170 Puppy Lived On Gravesite

Near Greyfriars Churchyard in Edinburgh, Scotland, is a memorial fountain and statue to a little dog named Greyfriars Bobby. The story: Some five years ago, a man was buried in the churchyard in 1858. His dog—for the next five years until his own death—virtually lived on top of the tomb day and night. The little Skye terrier left the site for only an hour at a time to visit his two friends, the restauranteur who fed him and the sexton who built a shelter for him at the stop. Strangely enough, on Saturdays, he would wait for an extra dinner, which he kept for Sunday. He did not go for dinner on that day.

Thousands visited the yard to see this faithful little dog. In tribute to his lifelong loyalty and devotion, they buried him beside his master.

171 Baboon As Hero

The “coat of arms” of the Fitzgerald family of Ireland is the figure of a baboon carrying a baby, and underneath the Latin motto, “Non immemer beneficii.” The story connected with this strange device is interesting.

Long ago one of the family was away at the wars, and had left his household in the charge of one or two old retainers and the woman servants. Suddenly there came an alarm of the enemy, and all fled, forgetful of the little baby, the heir of the house. A pet baboon noticed the omission, ran to the cradle, caught up the child, and ran with him to the top of the abbey steeple, holding him out for the people to see. The servants were all in terror, but the baboon carried the child safely to the ground.

When the child’s father returned, he felt that he owed a debt of gratitude to the dumb beast that had saved the heir of his house; and he was not ashamed to set the monkey in the center of his knightly shield, and place beneath the motto, “Not unmindful of his kindness.”

—Aquilla Webb

172 Goose As Roman Hero

The tradition is that when the Gauls invaded Rome a detachment in single file clambered up the hill of the capitol so silently that the foremost man reached the top without being challenged. But while they were striding over the rampart, some sacred geese, disturbed by the noise, began to cackle, and awoke the garrison. Marcus Manilius rushed to the wall and hurled the fellow over the precipice. To commemorate this event, the Romans carried a golden goose in procession to the capitol every year.

173 Dogs And Golf Balls

Some dogs are adept at smelling out golf balls in the rough. Among the best breeds for this work are cocker spaniels and dachshunds, because they can crawl in under branches and roots. The spaniel has a soft mouth and is less likely to bite and damage a ball that it brings back to you. According to the London Sunday Times, a golden cocker named Rikki, at Saunton in North Devon, has found 25,000 balls in 13 years. The balls, sold through the pro shop, have paid for lessons for junior golfers and wooden benches for the wearier players at Saunton. The name Rikki is carved into each bench.

—Don Maclean

174 Reindeer Blessing

Only a generation ago the Federal government bought one thousand reindeer in Siberia and had them transported to Alaska with a view of providing a new source of food for the Eskimos and Indians. Now there are over one million reindeer in Alaska. The herds supply all the meat natives can consume. So doth a good deed increase in blessing, reaching out to many over periods of time.

—Robert G. Lee

175 Alligator Cure For Asthma?

According to press reports, researchers are looking into the mouths of alligators for agents which might bring relief to asthma, arthritis or rheumatism. Folk tales were only recently uncovered from the Cajun Bayou dwellers in Louisiana’s coastal marshlands that their ancestors used alligator tongue oil to relieve “the miseries.”

Alligator tongue oil became the subject of serious research at Xavier University’s College of Pharmacy through the National Institutes of Health’s minority biomedical support program.

… AND MAN HAS RECIPROCATED IN KINDNESS TO ANIMALS

176 Man’s Humanity To Pets

There are now 30,000 doctors of veterinary medicine in the United States and the number is rising. In addition, there are more than 1,000 US and Canadian animal hospitals. The 9-story Animal Medical Center on New York’s East Side has operation rooms, pharmacies, research laboratories and a 24-hour emergency room.

There are blood banks for dogs. Blood is taken from healthy dogs, stored, and made available for use in transfusion among dogs. There are 48 blood types for dogs.

And when a favorite pet dies, there are 418 pet cemeteries in the United States. Burial costs range from $35 to $250, and caskets from $8 to $225. The late J. Edgar Hoover buried seven dogs in one Maryland pet cemetery.

177 Pets, Pet Foods and Accessories

Americans own some 100 million cats and dogs (45 million dogs and 55 million cats). This is the highest ratio of any nation to its people. Even animal-loving Britain has a lower ratio of 1 to 3, instead of America’s 1 to 2.

Over $300 million was spent by Americans a year to buy pets. And over $2 billion a year is spent for pet food. That is more than what Americans spend on babies! There are 3,000 dog and cat food makers. The largest-selling dry or canned food item in the grocery stores is pet food—four times more than baby food sales.

Furthermore, another $2 billion a year is spent on dog accessories—like gem-studded collars, perfume, gold-plated license tags, beef-flavored toothpaste, and breath sprays. When on vacation, dogs have their own motels with wall-to-wall carpeting, brass beds and piped-in music.

178 Pet Food Advertising

General Foods spent $35,000 to film a 30-second commercial for its dog food called “Gravy Train.” This is about $1,200 per second. Industry sources indicated that General Foods will spend another $1 million in the next year buying TV station time to show this commercial.

The nation’s 3,000 pet-food makers spent $75 million in 1970 to advertise the fact that dishes run all the way from chicken croquettes to chunks of pure beef. Dog food, anyone?

179 Price Hike Blamed On Pet Foods

According to the Associated Press, the food for America’s 70 million cats and dogs is of growing concern to some US government officials who are looking for ways to avoid a new round of meat shortages and higher food prices.

Pet food industry spokesmen say the industry brings the price of human food down by providing the farmer and meat processor with a profitable outlet for meat by-products.

The Pet Food Institute, a trade association, estimates that cats and dogs consume 4.2 million tons of commercially prepared pet food a year.

180 Firm Goes To The Dogs

Do you know that some large department stores now offer cosmetics for dogs? They include Le Chien Pawfum de Poodleoo and Arf-Pette, perfumes at $3.95 for a two-ounce bottle. A half-ounce vial of doggy nail polish sells for $1.49, and there is even a one-tenth-ounce package of mascara in “a sophisticated shade for sophisticated dogs, slate grey to accent their liquid eyes.”

One company’s products are indeed “going to the dogs.” The Crawford Manufacturing Company of the United States has announced “the production of a line of clothing, caps, bonnets, coasts and shoes—for dogs.”

According to a report by an advertising firm in Decatur, Illinois, “over $800 million is spent annually on pet collars, chains, licenses, shampoos, flea powder, etc.

Another $500 million is spent on dog kennels, dog beauty parlours and cemeteries.”

181 Flush Toilets For Paris Dogs

From France comes this newsreport: Paris may be on the verge of a revolutionary step in city sanitation: the world’s first public flush toilets for dogs.

The roofless, concrete “vespasienne” will be equipped with a walkway for the dogs, a column 80 cm (2 feet, 7–1/2 inches) high to replace the traditional fire hydrant, tree or lamp post, and a push-button flush to be operated by the dog owner. To encourage dogs to make the most of the opportunity, the facility will exude a special diuretic and laxative fragrance to the accompaniment of running water.

182 Dog Hotel Opens

In New York, a dog hotel has opened its doors. It costs $25,000. It is complete with a dietitian and nine other employees. Depending on the size of the room, the lavish hostelry will cost from $9 to $13 a day. The rooms are individually decorated. The pampered canines will be fed liver and tripe stew. There is even an arrangement with an animal gourmet shop, which provides special cookies at $4 for three ounces. A village green has been installed and the dogs will receive four supervised walks each day.

—Christian Victory

WHEN GOD PERMITS ANIMALS TO PUNISH THE TRIBULATIONAL EARTH, THERE WILL BE NO LACK OF STRENGTH AND ENDURANCE AMONG THE BEASTS.

183 Elizabeth Taylor’s Dog

A report from London:

“What is probably the world’s most expensive dog kennel dropped anchor at London’s Tower Pier Saturday. The 200-ton luxury yacht—renting at $2400 a week—will stay there for two months so Richard Burton and his wife, Elizabeth Burton, are not parted from their pets while he is making a movie. Because of Britain’s stringent animal quarantine regulations, the Burtons cannot take their pets into the country by ordinary means. So the famous couple overcame the problem by hiring the whole yacht. The yacht has a Portuguese crew of 10 and four passengers—two long haired dachshunds, a pekingese and Yorkshire terrier.”

184 Dog Psychiatrist

The latest rage is dog psychiatry. One advertisement asks, “Has your dog been to an analyst lately? Does he bite the postman because he hates his mother?”

185 $20 Million Legacy To Animals

In 1975, the eccentric playboy George Whittell, Jr. died and left a $20 million legacy to animal, bird, and fish life. In his will, he left 20 million dollars to his widow and nurse, and the remaining 20 million dollars to be used “to relieve pain and suffering among animal, bird and fish life.”

The California Judge says this will contains some “novel and intriguing” ambiguities, and the San Mateo country courtroom is full of feuding humans trying to get a piece of the action.

Meanwhile, a West German died in Munich and left $312,000 to his German shepherd dog.

186 Pension Goes To Feed Birds

Los Angeles residents were shocked and saddened to learn one of their own was starving himself just to feed the birds in two city parks. Newspaper reporters learned of the strange story and reported it nationally. Retired Raymond Lopez, eighty years old, gaunt, sick, and feeble, explained, “I don’t care about myself any more. I’m only interested in helping all things that suffer and all things that are hungry.”

Most of Lopez’s social security check and pension goes to pay the delivery man who comes every Tuesday with 2,800 pounds of feed for his feathered friends. The bill is about $150 a week. While friends have encouraged Lopez to take a trip, relax, or enjoy material things, he merely replies, “I’d rather go hungry myself than let my birds go hungry.”

—C. R. Hembree

187 Range For Forgotten Horses

Palatine, Illinois, is the site of an unusual ranch. The 12-acre spread is a haven for forgotten race horses.

Arthur Thompson, a 57-year-old former jockey, devotes his energies and resources to saving old race horses from death in glue factories or animal food canneries. His ranch is home for 20 such horses.

It all started 22 years ago when he bought a doomed horse from its owners who had consigned it to the glue factory. “It broke my heart,” Thompson recalls. “That’s all the thanks he was getting for a lifetime of hard work. I couldn’t let them do it, so I paid the owners $50 and took him home with me.”

188 Greatest Dog Funeral

The greatest dog funeral ever staged was for the mongrel dog Lazares who belonged to the self-proclaimed Emperor Norton I of the United States. It was held in San Francisco in 1862 and had an attendance of some 10,000 people.

189 15,000 Miles To Catch Cat

From Landen, Wyoming, through the Associated Press, comes this news: Lou Holt retired and moved to Jasper, Arkansas. The moving company was instructed to take along the Holt’s family cat but the movers, couldn’t catch it. Holt’s wife, Mary, arrived back at Landen, after a trip of nearly fifteen hundred miles, to round up her pet. It took her five minutes and fifteen cents worth of liver to trap the cat.

190 Stopping A Marriage

In Seattle, where a kennel license is required if you house four or more pets, a woman with two dogs and a cat called the pet-license office for information. She explained that she was considering marriage to a man with two cats and a dog. “We both love our animals dearly and don’t want to give any up,” the woman said. “But if we get married, could we somehow continue to have the dogs and cats—under separate ownerships, as it were—so we wouldn’t have to take out a pet-kennel license?”

The official explained that since the three dogs and three cats would be housed on the same premises, a kennel license would be required. There was a moment’s silence at the other end of the line. Then the woman said, “I think you have just stopped a wonderful marriage,” and hung up abruptly.

—Seattle Times

191 Rule 46

Rule 46 of the Oxford Union Society in London reads: “Any number introducing a dog into the Society’s premises shall be liable to a fine of £1. Any animal leading a blind person shall be deemed to be a cat.”

—The Times, London