Democratic Sentinel, Volume 19, Number 40, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 October 1895 — A Wonderful Canine. [ARTICLE]

A Wonderful Canine.

Rev. Downing, of South Pittsburg, Tenn., lias a most wonderful dog, He is an ordinary yellow cur named ■‘Bench,” with coarse hair and short legs, but it is said that he can imitate the sounds of any animal at will. At the word of command he will crow like a cock, neigh like a horse, low like a cow, grunt and squeal like a pig, mew like a cat and repeat tho various voices incident to farm life. He could give all the yelps of a pack of hounds in pursuit of a fox and in so realistic a manner that you could scarcely help believing that a hunt was in progress. The dog was never trained to do this, but as a puppy picked up the cries ol the farm yard and has added to them the creaking of wagons and the whirring of machinery as made by a thrasher, Mr. Downing has been offered fabulous sums for the wonderful dog, but refuses to part with him. Trained animal keepers who have examined “Bench” and become familiar with his mimicry says that it would be an easy matter to teach the dog to articulate words, perhaps to even talk connectedly.