have had all kinds of dogs, but I get more genuine pleasure out of my
Boston terrier than all my other dogs combined. When I reach home in the
afternoon I am met at the gate by Prince, and when I sit down to read my
paper or a book the dog is at my feet on the rug, staying there perfectly
still as long as I do. When dinner is announced he goes with me to the
dining room, takes his place by my side, and every little while licks my
hands, and when I go out for my usual walk before retiring the dog is
waiting for me at the door while I put my hat and coat on. He follows me,
never running away or barking, and he sleeps on a mat outside my door at
night, and I never worry about burglars." All this is very simple and
commonplace, but it shows why this type of a dog is liked. In regard to
the differences of opinion that different judges exhibit when passing upon
a dog in the show room, one preferring one type of a dog and the other
another, this, of course, is morally wrong. The standard requirements
should govern, and not individual preferences. We hear a good deal said
nowadays about the cleaning up of the head, and the so-called terrier
finish. That seems to be the thing to do, but does not the standard call
for a compactly built dog, finished in every part of his make-up, and
possessing style and a graceful carriage? This being the case, a dog
should not possess wrinkled, loose skin on head or neck, and the shoulders
should be neat and trim. In a word, in comporting to the standard a dog is
produced that possesses a harmonious whole, "a thing of beauty" and a joy
as long as he lives. In short, the dog should be as far removed from the
bull type as he is from the terrier. If the present judges can not see
their way clear to follow the standard, why, appoint those that will, for
as every fair minded man agrees, the dogs should follow the standard and
not the standard follow the dogs. It is needless to add that I do not
share in the pessimistic view taken by many lovers of the dog who think he
will be permanently injured by the differences of opinion that prevail as
to the type, etc., and the personalities that sometimes mar the showing of
the dog, for I am of the same opinion as was probably felt by the great
fish who had to give up Jonah, "that it is an impossible feat to keep a
good man (or dog) down," and that instead of falling off, as one writer
intimates, he will fall into the good graces of a larger number of people
tha