Evening Republican, Volume 23, Number 120, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1920 — DOG’S GREAT LOVE [ARTICLE]

DOG’S GREAT LOVE

Death Could Not Separate Bags : From His Master. I,i < ‘ With the Man Ha Worshiped Gone, Life Had No Charma for Hla Dumb Companion, and Ha f Quickly Foltowed. - A professional man in a New Jersey town was the owner of a Skye terrier named Rags, which was regarded as an •nuzually intelligent dog, the New York Times states. His master commoted regularly to the city, Sags, no matter bow bad the weather might be, always accompanied him to the station, saw him safely aboard the traA, and waited nntll it was out of sight before he could be persuaded to return home. Rags wn then quite disconsolate for the rest of the day, but lata In the afternoon when his master'd homebouud train was due his spirits revived and he was sure to be at the station to meet him,.

When the train lumberfed Into the town and came to a stop, Rags would run along the platform from car to car, sinning the passengers eagerly as tbey alighted. At slgbt of bis master he would bark delightedly, wag his tall and Jump about with Joy. His pleasure was sometimes dimmed by his master missing the train. When this happened the little dog remained at the station long enough to convince himself that his owner was not there, and then, tncking his tail between his legs, he repaired to a nearby case, which his master customarily visited before returning home. If necessary. Rags would remain In the bar room for an hour or more, knowing well that in the natural course of events his master would call for hlnu. On such occasions he rebuked his master by exhibiting toward him a certain shy canine indifference, which he maintained until he was regaled with dainties from the free-lunch counter. For years the dog accompanied his master to and flrom the station, and their loyalty and devotion to each other was the talc of the town. Then one day the master was take# 111 and died, and was duly laid to rest in the town’s quiet and peaceful little cemetery. Rags never recovered from the shock of tils death. Although neighbors did liielr best to make life pleasant for him, he refused to be comforted. He began to visit the cemetery and haunt the plot where \his master was hurled. There have been stories of dogs dying from grief, and some such stories have been doubted and exploded by certain naturalists, but be that as It may, one day the sexton and caretaker of the cemetery, In making his morning rounds, discovered Rags cold and lifeless beside his master’s grave. This sexton, a,n unromantic old fellow, said he guessed the dog Just died naturally from old age, but Rags’ frlemfe, and they were many, were sure It was from lqnellness and grief. In this same town there was another dog which delighted to frolic about the station with Rags. He was owned by a local hackman who piloted town folk to and from the station and thnf? homes. This dog, as though he were an Integral part of It, followed the hack wherever it went Negro pantrymen on the Pennsylvania express "Nellie Bly,” which made a brief atop dally, took a fancy to the dog, and used to throw him bones from the window of the dining car. It mattered not where the hackman might be when driving a fare home, his dog knew by instinct the hour at which the express was due, and,-rath-er than be late, he would desert his master and run to the station for dear life. If his master left the station a short time before the express was due, his pet refused to accompany him, fearing evidently he might miss the train with its treat from the pantrymen.