A DOG-STORY.
[To 21111 Roma OF TRH mtarscraroa."3 — A. carpenter residing at Newent, named Jones, possesses a dog which is considered a local wonder. He has, at my request, kindly written me out a rough account of its doings. As I know you take an interest in doge, I enclose it to you. Of coarse if you publish it Ton will give your own
outline of it. Jones is a respectable man, who I know welL I know the animal also by sight, but never saw any of his performances. I have never tried to do so.—I am, Sir, Sto.,, PETER A. L. WOOD,
Rector of Newent, Gloucester.
Newent Rectory, Gloucester, May 29th.
" It was in the year 1886 that I went to the Forest of Dean to pay a visit to my sister. I had not been there long before one of the boys took me to see the dogs, and the moment I saw this one I fixed my mind upon it. The boys told their mother what I had been saying. I had to beg very hard before she would let me have it. As soon as it was about six months old I commenced giving him lessons. The first lesson was to learn it to sit up to beg for something to eat, and then when I learnt it to sit up I made it bark, that is what I call speaking for it. After that I learnt him to fetch money, and if I threw a piece of money anywhere in the dark he would find it and bring it to me, and I did always give him something to eat for it, and he got so used to it that he would not let me have it without. He is also very cunning over it, because if I did not hold my hand under his mouth for it he would drop it down and put his paw upon it. And then before he would let me have it I should have to give him somethimg else. There was a woman in Newent one Sat irday night lost a shilling, and she was looking about in a shop for it, and ' Caper' brought it to me in the street. I saw what he had got, and I found the woman and asked her what she had lost, and she answered me rather sharply and said, Something I didn't want to lose.' She would not tell me what it was she had lost, and I said to her, ' Here is your money,' and she said ' No it is not,' and I said, `If you will give him a biscuit for it he will let you have it,' and she did so. But she would not believe that the dog had found it until I threw it down again and he brought it to me. That was when he was about two years old, and he has never forgot it yet, because if ever I take him with me when I go into the town, he always goes into that shop and barks for biscuits, and the shop-keeper always gives him some. The next lesson was to learn it to look after my tools. He was minding my tools one day, and a gentleman put his spurs down by my tool-box, and in about an hour's time came to fetch them ; but Caper' would not let him have them. He would let the gentleman pick them up and go a little way towards the door before he would interfere with him, but as soon as he went to go out the dog would bite him and make him put it down. And as soon as I went into the shop he would let the gentleman pick them up or anything else, and he would not take any notice of him again. He will never touch any one if I am there, but if they touched anything when I was away he would soon bits them. He will stay and mind my tools for any length of time, and he has never been known to leave his post of duty. He is very fond of the ferrets and the gun, and is a very good one for rats or rabbits. If he caught one he will always carry it to me, and no one dare take it off him. He will carry a rat for miles and take them to the ferrets' box. If I stays in bed a little over time in the morning he will bring my boots upstairs, and if I do not wake up and speak to him, he will jump on the bed and lick my face till I wake and speak to him. When the postman comes in the morning he generally gives Caper' the letters and says, Take them to your mistress,' and he will run upstairs with it and bark and let her know he has something for her. He goes with me every morning to work, but if there is a place where there is a lot of dogs I do not take him along, and he will whine at the door all day long. Once I was working about 3 miles from Newent, called Penthouse, and I had to go by train to Dymock one morning, and the dog missed of me and went on to Penthouse, and the shepherd knowing that I was not going there, drove him back again ; he came home and found was not there, and so went back again ; and my master was going to bring my tools in a cart; and then the dog knew if he went with the tools he would be sure to find me. He lay down in front of the horse until he was ready to start, and he ran along until lie got into the Ledbury Road; he waited to see which way he was going. As soon as he turned for Dymock he started without him„ and as I had been working there about 3 months before the dog knew where to come to. When my master came he asked me if I bad seen the dog, and I said Yes,' and then he told me this little story of how he had acted. One night, on coming from work, I lost my keys, and I said to the dog, " I have lost my keys, and you must go back and find them." He went back again to seek for them, and soon returned with the keys in his mouth.' I was working at a place one day, and I told 'Caper' he must stay and mind my tools, because I was going to dinner ; and seeing that I had left my bottle that was wrapped in paper. he picked it up and was bringing it after me. He carried it about 12 yards, and then dropped it, and of course it broke, and he picked up the largest piece and saw that all the cider was run out, and then he picked up the paper and went back to my tools and lay down ; but he thought I must have forgotten it as I was going to dinner. He is now turned nine years of age, and is gone deaf from old age ; but he has not forgot any of his old tricks yet. Dear old dog, we shall miss him vary much if anything happens to him, but I hope he will live a long time yet."
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