The Fellowship of Dogs

1906

By R. H. Bell

I have seen a few wretches in my day; but I never saw one so utterly lost to decency that he could not be flattered by the friendly attentions of a strange dog.

There is some hope for the man who is capable of feeling ashamed in the presence of an honorable dog. That man has avenues open to him for advancement. His soul is still fit for expansion. When a strange dog greets him, he thinks better of himself — unconsciously he reasons: "Villain that I am. I am not so bad after all as I might be. You can't fool a dog; and a dog is no hypocrite; therefore, I have good in me which he recognizes." The fellow is a little surprised at himself and not a little flattered.

For my own part, I have learned a great deal from dogs. If I am natural, they set me the example in early childhood. If I am faithful to a friend through his disgrace and disaster, I cannot deny that a dog revealed this nobility of character to me for the first time in my life. If I have gratitude, I saw it first in a dog. If I have enterprise, he did not neglect my early lessons. If I have initiative, so had my first dog-friend; if I am affectionate, so was he. If I am patient in adversity and without arrogance in affluence, I could not have acquired his poise of mind better from men than from dogs. If I am watchful over weakness intrusted to my care; if I am forgetful of self in guarding my beloved, if I have the courage of my convictions, if I have any heroic instincts, I could have had no better teacher than a dog. — The Culturist.