“Clothes do not make the man, and boys are apt to overlook certain superficial peculiarities and defects which seem more significant to their elders. In Sam Bumpus they saw only a man of good humor and wonderful wisdom, a man whose manner of life was vastly more interesting than that of the common run of people, whose knowledge of the lore of woods and fields, of dogs and hunting, entitled him to a high place in their estimation. They overlooked the externals, the evidence of poverty and shiftlessness, his lack of education, and saw only his native wit and shrewdness, his kinship with the world of nature, and his goodness of heart.” Character Book:The Dogs of Boytown Source: The Dogs of Boytown
“The New York police-dogs are not as finely trained as those of Ghent and other European cities. Not as much is asked of them. But they are expected to stick to their official masters, to recognize men in uniforms as friends and all others as possible enemies, to answer at once to the police-whistle or the rap of a night-stick, to hurl themselves upon a man attacking a policeman, to lie still and watch when commanded, to pursue and throw a fleeing criminal, to search around buildings at night, and to give notice by barking of the presence of persons lurking in the shadows. Pete showed not the slightest inclination to do any of these things.” DogsPolice Dog Book:Many Dogs There Be Source: Many Dogs There Be
“The Gray Devil I was implacably resolved to slay. Come what might to me, I was determined to rid our once happy home of the menace of her malignant presence. They might kill me, but I would save them.” Dogs And Cats Book:Many Dogs There Be Source: Many Dogs There Be
“I cannot yet see why it was considered necessary or in any way desirable to introduce another member into our household; particularly a loathsome, evil-minded, treacherous, and altogether useless and selfish Cat. We were, to my way of thinking, quite a complete and satisfactory family group as it was. There were Master and Mistress, without whom, of course, no household could be. There was Baby to provide occupation and a necessary object of worship. There was Nurse to look after Baby; there was Cook to feed us all; and there was myself, the Dog, to look after the rest of them and to make the many comforts of the establishment more completely worth while. It was, I think you will agree with me, a well-balanced organization. The addition of the Gray Devil was, to say the least of it superfluous.” DogsDogs And Cats Book:Many Dogs There Be Source: Many Dogs There Be
“Setters,” he was saying, “are usually supposed to be the keenest and pointers the strongest, but in my opinion it all depends on the partic’lar dog. Nowadays I hear a good deal about the pointer bein’ the best dog, and I’ve owned some good ones myself. There’s nothing prettier than strong, wiry pointer doublin’ and turnin’ in the brush and freezin’ to a steady point. But for my own part, give me a well-bred Llewellyn setter; they’re the humanist dog they is. They’ve got the bird sense, too. Oh, you can’t beat ‘em.” DogsPointersSetter Book:The Dogs of Boytown Source: The Dogs of Boytown