A Dog's a Dog for A' That

by Mrs. A. J. Wilder. Mansfield, Missouri.

Intelligent Pets Sometimes Seem Almost Like Real Folks

A redbird swinging in the grape arbor saw himself in the glass of my kitchen window not long ago. He tried to fly thru the glass to reach the strange bird he saw there and when his little mate came flitting by he tried to fight his reflection. Apparently he was jealous. During all one day he fretted and struggled to drive the stranger away. He must have told his little wife about it that night, I think, for in the morning they came to the arbor together and she alighted before the window while he stayed in the background. She gave Mr. Redbird one look, after glancing in the glass, then turned and flew fiercely at her reflection, twittering angrily. One could imagine her saying: "So that's it! This strange lady Redbird is the reason for your hanging around here instead of getting busy building the nest. I thought something was wrong, but I'll soon drive her away!" She tried to fight the strange lady bird until her husband objected to her paying so much attention to his rival and then they took turns, he declaring there was a gentleman there, she vowing there was a lady and doing her best to drive her away. At last between them they seemed to understand and now they both come occasionally to swing on the grape vine before the window and admire themselves in the glass.

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There are many interesting things in the out-of-doors life that comes so close to us in the country, and if we show a little kindness to the wild creatures they quickly make friends with us and permit us a delightful intimacy with them and their homes. A bird in a cage is not a pretty sight, to me, but it is a pleasure to have the wild birds and the squirrels nesting around the house and so tame that they do not mind our watching them. Persons who shoot or allow shooting on their farms drive away a great deal of amusement and pleasure with the game, as well as do themselves pecuniary damage, while a small boy with a stone handy can do even more mischief than a man with a gun.

It is surprising how like human beings animals seem when they are treated with consideration. Did you ever notice the sense of humor animals have? Ever see a dog apologize-- not a cringing fawning for favor, but a frank apology as one gentleman to another?

Shep was trying to learn to sit up and shake hands, but try as he would he could not seem to get the knack of keeping his balance in the upright position. He was an old dog and you know it has been said that, "It is hard to teach an old dog new tricks." No sympathy has ever been wasted on the dog but I can assure you that it also is hard for the old dog. After a particularly disheartening session one day, we saw him out on the back porch alone and not knowing that he was observed. He was practicing his lesson without a teacher. We watched while he tried and failed several times, then finally got the trick of it and sat up with his paw extended. The next time we said, "How do you do, Shep," he had his lesson perfectly. After that it was easy to teach him to fold his paws and be a "Teddy Bear" and to tell us what he said to tramps. We never asked him to lie down and roll over. he was not that kind of a character. Shep never would do his tricks for any one but us, tho he would shake hands with others when we told him to do so. His eyesight became poor as he grew older and he did not always recognize his friends. Once he made a mistake and barked savagely at an old friend whom he really regarded as one of the family tho he had not seen him for some time. Later as we all sat in the door yard, Shep seemed uneasy. Evidently there was something on his mind. At last he walked deliberately to the visitor, sat up and held out his paw. It was so plainly an apology that our friend said: "That's all right Shep old fellow! Shake and forget it!" Shep shook hands and walked away perfectly satisfied.

My little French Poodle, Incubus, is blind. He used to be very active and run about the farm; but his chief duty, as he saw it, was to protect me. Altho he cannot see, he still performs that duty, guarding me at night and flying at any stranger who comes too near me during the day. Of what he is thinking, when he sits for long periods in the yard, with his face to the sun, I am too stupid to understand perfectly, but I feel that in his little doggy heart, he is asking the eternal, "Why?" as we all do at times. After awhile he seemingly decides to make the best of it and takes a walk around the familiar places, or comes in the house and does his little tricks for candy with a cheery good will. If patience and cheerfulness and courage, if being faithful to our trust and doing our duty under difficulties count for so much in man that he expects to be rewarded for them, both here and hereafter, how are they any less in the life of my little blind dog? Surely such virtues in animals are worth counting in the sum total of good in the universe.

Mrs. A. J. Wilder. "A Dog's a Dog for A' That." Missouri Ruralist,  (August 20, 1916):page 5. Two photographs accompanied this article: one of a dog and cat lying together in front of a stone wall, and another of a little boy sitting beside a dog, with the caption: Robert and Shep. Robert Says the Camera Man Could Scarcely Keep Shep from Wagging His Tail Long Enough to Take the Picture.  CLICK HERE to see this article as it originally appeared in the Missouri Ruralist.

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