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¶ In Denver, Colo., last week, the county court overruled all objections to the will of the late Fred H. Forrester, who had left his $110,000 fortune for the permanent care of his collie, Shep, for the welfare of all homeless or abused dumb animals in Colorado, and for the construction of drinking fountains for dogs and horses in Denver streets. Dog Shep had refused to eat for a week after Mr. Forrester's death.
¶ In Brooklyn, from the Kings County Hospital, Joan, a police-bitch, the property of a doctor, ran away or was stolen by a motorist. Boys and girls in the children's ward of the hospital moaned with grief. Having escaped from her abductor, or having decided of her own will to return to the Kings County Hospital, Joan fell through the ice into a pond on her way home. A policeman, attracted by her noise, pulled Joan out of the ice and returned her to the bedridden children, who were delighted.
¶ In Cambridge, Mass., a mongrel dog walked into the hallway of a lodging-house and gave a snarl. So ferocious was this snarl that Mrs. Dominic Spirito & two offspring, Mrs. Hugo Hoffman & two offspring, scurried quickly to their rooms, from the half opened doors of which they peeped down at the mongrel with frightened faces. Eleven-year-old Benjamin Guieto, observing the terrified women and children, jumped out the window and got a policeman. The policeman came up behind the prowling mongrel and shot him dead.
¶ In Pittsburgh, Pa., Rover, described as "a large, shaggy, hungry Airedale," crawled into the cold air chute of a furnace belonging to one Michael Cronin. For three days he remained in this chute, barking, scratching, yelping, trying to jump out. At last, annoyed by his outcries, Michael Cronin called the police and the fire department. A member of the latter had himself lowered into the chute by rope; he pulled the Airedale out, sent him home to be fed.
These dogs are, as the case may be, worthless or precious beyond monetary considerations. Not so the dogs who get around to dog shows. There, every dog has a price; as he wins more prizes his value increases, his stud fees or her puppies are worth more money. With this speculative element in the sport, breeding pedigreed dogs becomes a business. Talavera Margaret, for instance, the winner of the show, was when very young sold by her breeder for $15. Later, he rebought her and sold her for $1,250, a fraction of her present value. The prizes offered in dog shows, unlike those for horse races, promise no great profits; these are to be secured merely by owning a dog whose puppies or self will be accepted in exchange for large sums of money by fanciers who wish to be honored by other fanciers.