Sir Patrick Walker writes me:--"Pincer, in appearance, is of the
English terrier breed, but in manner indicates a good deal of the
Scotch colley, or shepherd's dog. He has a remarkably good nose, is a
keen destroyer of vermin, and is in the habit of coming to the house
for assistance ever since the following occurrence:--He came into the
parlour one evening when some friends were with us, and looking in my
face, by many expressive gestures, evinced great anxiety that I should
follow him. Upon speaking to him, he leaped, and his whine got to a
more determined bark, and pulled me by the collar or sleeve of the
coat, until I was induced to follow him; and when I got up, he began
leaping and gambolling before me, and led the way to an outhouse, to
a large chest filled with pieces of old wood, and which he continued
by the same means to solicit to be moved. This was done, and he took
out a large rat, killed it, and returned to the parlour quite composed
and satisfied.
"Similar occurrences have frequently taken place since, with this
addition, that as I sometimes called the servant, he often leaves me
and runs in the same manner to get his assistance, as soon as he finds
me quitting the room to follow him. In no instance has Pincer ever
been wrong, his scent is so very good. Once, when he had got
assistance, he directed our attention to some loose wood in the yard;
and when part of it was removed, he suddenly manifested
disappointment, and that the object of pursuit was gone. His manner
and look seemed more than instinct, and at once told his story. After
a little pause, and some anxious looks, he dashed up a ladder that
rested against a low out-house, and took a large rat out of the spout,
whither it had apparently escaped whilst Pincer came for assistance."
Terriers appear to have a strong instinctive faculty of finding their
way back to their homes, when removed from them to long distances, and
even when they have seas to cross. There are instances of their having
done this from France, Ireland, and even Germany. Their powers of
endurance, therefore, must be very great, and their energies as well
as affections equally strong. They have also an invincible
perseverance in all they do, to which every fox-hunter will bear his
testimony. In my youth, when following the hounds, I have been
delighted in witnessing the energy of a brace of terriers, who were
sure to make their appearance at the slightest check, running with an
ardour quite extraordinary, and incessant in their exertions to be
with the busiest of the pack in their endeavours to find. If the fox
takes to earth, the little brave terrier eagerly follows, and shows by
his baying whether the fox lays deep or not, so that those who are
employed in digging it out can act accordingly. In rabbit-shooting in
thick furze or breaks, the terrier, as I have often witnessed, will
take covert with the eagerness and impetuosity of a foxhound. On one
of these occasions I saw an enormous wild cat started, which a small
terrier pursued and never quitted, notwithstanding the unequal
contest, till it was shot by a keeper. As vermin-killers, they are
superior to all other dogs. The celebrated terrier Billy was known to
have killed one hundred rats in seven minutes.
Nor are their affections less strong than their courage. A gentleman
in the neighbourhood of Bath had a terrier which produced a litter of
four puppies. He ordered one of them to be drowned, which was done by
throwing it into a pail of water, in which it was kept down by a mop
till it appeared to be dead. It was then thrown into a dust-hole, and
covered with ashes. Two mornings afterwards, the servant discovered
that the bitch had still four puppies, and amongst them was the one
which it was supposed had been drowned. It was conjectured that in the
course of a short time the terrier had, unobserved, raked her whelp
from the ashes, and had restored it to life.
An excellent clergyman, residing close to Brighton, gave me the
following curious anecdote of a dog which his son, the late
greatly-lamented Major R---- brought to England with him from Spain.
This dog was a sort of Spanish terrier, and his disposition and habits
were very peculiar indeed, unlike those of any dog I ever heard of.
One day a teacher of music was going to one of her pupils, and as she
was passing at some little distance from the house of the owner of
this dog, had her attention attracted to him. He first looked at her
very significantly, pulled her by the gown the contrary way to which
she was going, and evidently wanted her to follow him. Partly
instigated by curiosity, but chiefly because he held her gown tight in
his mouth, she suffered herself to be led some distance, when the dog
brought her into a field in which some houses were in the course of
being built. She then became alarmed, and seeing two or three
labourers, she asked them to drive away the dog. Finding, however,
that he would not quit his hold, they advised her to see where the dog
would lead her, promising to accompany and protect her. Thus assured,
she allowed him to lead her where he pleased. The dog brought her to
the houses which were being built. On arriving at them, it was found
that the area had been dug out, and a strong plank placed across it,
one end resting on a heap of earth. At this end the dog began to
scratch eagerly; and on the plank being lifted up, a large beef bone
was discovered, which the dog seized in his mouth, and trotted away
with it perfectly satisfied. My informant said that he had taken some
pains to ascertain the accuracy of this anecdote from the young lady
herself, and that I might depend on its truth.
A somewhat similar occurrence took place in my own neighbourhood, very
recently. A lady, going to make a morning's call, passed the gateway
of a house, when her gown was seized by a dog, who pulled her the
contrary way to which she was going. She at last disengaged herself,
and made her call. On coming out, the dog was waiting for her, and
again took her gown in his mouth, and led her to the gateway she had
previously passed. Here he stopped, and as the dog held a tight hold,
she rang the bell; and on a servant opening the gate the animal,
perfectly satisfied, trotted in, when she found that he belonged to
the house, but had been shut out.
It may be also mentioned as an instance of courage and fidelity in a
terrier, that as a gentleman was returning home, a man armed with a
large stick seized him by the breast, and striking him a violent blow
on the head, desired him instantly to deliver his watch and money. As
he was preparing to repeat the blow, the terrier sprung at him, and
seized him by the throat. His master, at the same time, giving the man
a violent blow, he fell backwards and dropped his stick. The gentleman
took it up, and ran off, followed by his dog, but not before the
animal had torn off and carried away in his mouth a portion of the
man's waistcoat.
The following fact will serve to prove that dogs are capable of
gratitude in no ordinary degree:--
A surgeon at Dover, seeing a terrier in the street which had received
some injury, took it home; and having cured it in a couple of days,
let it go. For many weeks the grateful animal used to pay him a daily
visit of a few minutes, and after a vehement wagging of his tail,
scampered off again to his own home.
A neighbour of mine has a terrier which has shown many odd
peculiarities in his habits. He has contracted a great friendship for
a white cat, and evinced his affection for it the other day in a
curious manner. The dog was observed to scratch a large deep hole in
the garden. When he had finished it he sought out the cat, dragged her
by the neck to the hole, endeavoured to place her in it, and to cover
her with the soil. The cat, not liking this proceeding, at last made
her escape.
While two terriers were hunting together in a wood, one was caught by
the leg in a trap set for foxes. His companion finding that he could
not extricate the other, ran to the house of his owner, and by his
significant gesticulations induced him to follow; and by this means he
was extricated.
Mr. Morritt, well known to the readers of the Life of Sir Walter
Scott, as his intimate and confidential friend, had two terriers of
the pepper-and-mustard breed, or rather, as we prefer him to any other
character Sir Walter Scott has delighted us with, the Dandy Dinmont
breed. These dogs (for we avoid the feminine appellation when we can)
were strongly attached to their excellent master, and he to them. They
were mother and daughter, and each produced a litter of puppies about
the same time. Mr. Morritt was seriously ill at this period, and
confined to his bed. Fond as these dogs were of their puppies, they
had an equal affection for their master, and in order to prove to him
that such was the case, they adopted the following expedient. They
conveyed their two litters of puppies to one place, and while one of
the mothers remained to suckle and take care of them, the other went
into Mr. Morritt's bedroom and continued there from morning until the
evening. When the evening arrived, she went and relieved the other
dog, who then came into the bedroom, and remained quietly all night by
the side of the bed, and this they continued to do day after day in
succession.
This charming anecdote was communicated to me from a quarter which
cannot leave a doubt of its authenticity, and affords an affecting
proof of gratitude and love in animals towards those who have treated
them with kindness, and made them their friends. Such an anecdote as
this should be sufficient to preserve dogs from much of the
ill-treatment they meet with.
I knew a very clever terrier belonging to a friend of mine. His name
was Snap. Now Snap one fine, hot, summer's day, accompanied his
master, who was on horseback, on his way from London to the
neighbourhood of Windsor. The road was very dusty, and, as I have
said, the weather hot, and Snap was very thirsty. No water was met
with until Hounslow had been passed. At last a woman crossed the road
with a bucket of water, which she had drawn from a neighbouring pump.
On arriving at her cottage she placed it outside her door, and left it
there. Snap saw it and lapped up some of the water with evident
satisfaction, his master waiting for him. When he had finished his
lapping, instead of following, he deliberately inserted his
hind-quarters into the bucket--took a good cooling bath--shook himself
in the bucket--jumped out--gave himself another shake, and then
followed his master. If Snap was lost in London, he would go to every
house usually frequented by his master; and if he then could not find
him, would return home. Snap, in fact, was an extraordinary dog.
One night, a gentleman, between fifty and sixty years of age, went
into a house of a particular description near the Admiralty. He had
not been long there when he died suddenly. He had with him a small dog
of the terrier kind, which immediately left the room. There was
nothing found on the gentleman's person to lead to a discovery of his
name or residence. About twelve o'clock, however, on the following
night, three interesting young ladies, of very genteel appearance,
between the ages of sixteen and twenty, arrived at the house in which
the gentleman died, accompanied by the dog. They came in a chaise from
Richmond. It appears that the dog, immediately after the decease of
his master, ran off to Richmond, where he usually resided. As soon as
the door was opened he rushed into the apartment of the young ladies,
who were in the act of dressing themselves. He began to solicit their
attention by whines and cries, and his eyes turned to the door, as if
to invite them to follow him. Failing in this, he became more earnest,
seized their clothes, and pulled them towards the door with so much
violence, that one of their gowns was torn. This excited great alarm;
and from the intelligence shown by the animal, it was resolved by the
young ladies to resign themselves to the dog, which continued to
entice them away. A chaise was accordingly ordered, and they
immediately took their seats in it. The dog led the way, with its head
almost constantly turned back, and his eyes fixed upon the carriage,
until he led them to the house near the Admiralty, where his master
had died. There they alighted; but how great was their grief, horror,
and surprise, to find their father dead in such a situation!
The deceased proved to be Mr. ----, an inhabitant of Lewisham, in
Kent, where he possessed a farm of considerable extent, and followed
the business of an auctioneer, and was greatly respected in his
neighbourhood. That night he dropped down in the house alluded to,
when the people, supposing him dead, immediately gave the alarm, and
the body was conveyed to the Lord Cochrane hotel, within a few doors,
in Spring Gardens. Here it was discovered that the spark of life was
not totally extinguished. He was carried up-stairs and put to bed, and
medical assistance was called in; but in vain,--in a few minutes he
was a corpse. As the people of the house were carrying him up-stairs,
a sum of 1100_l._ fell from his pocket in bank-notes, tied up in a
bundle, and marked on the outside, "To be paid into Snow's,"--a
circumstance sufficient in itself to show that he had not been
dishonestly treated by the female who accompanied him into the house
from which he was brought, or any other person belonging to it. The
interesting little dog, after his return, remained at his post, the
faithful guardian of his beloved master's remains. He lay on the foot
of the bed, with his eyes constantly fixed on the body, with an eager,
anxious, melancholy expression.
The place was crowded with people, led by curiosity to this
interesting scene. The dog never appeared to take any notice of these
strange visitors, and no rude hand attempted to interrupt the little
mourner in his melancholy office. The verdict of the coroner's inquest
was,--"Died by the visitation of God."
Another of the same breed of dogs evinced much sagacity on the
following occasion:--
His master occupied furnished lodgings near the Inns of Court in
London. In the hurry of removing from them, neither he nor his
servants thought of the dog, who was not in the way when they quitted
the house. When the dog returned to it, finding his master gone, he
trotted off to Kensington, where an intimate friend of his master
resided, and very quietly and patiently made himself at home in the
house. As he was well known, he was fed and taken care of, and at the
end of three days his master called, and he then gladly went away with
him.
In this instance it is, I think, evident, that the dog possessed a
sort of reasoning faculty, which induced him to suppose that the best
chance he had of finding his master was by going to a place to which
he had formerly accompanied him; and he was correct in his
calculation.