This little work will not treat of the dog, man's dumb friend, as a sporting or a fighting animal, but will dis cuss it as a companion of the human race and a guar dian and ornament of the home. Those who delight in the pugnacity of certain breeds and the cultivators of freak dogs are not friends of the noble animal and have no place here. The author is mindful of Shakespeare's caption, but if you possess a dog, gentle reader, you may in these chapters discover how the better to care for it. If you contemplate owning one, remember Mr. Punch's advice to young persons about to marry, Do not own a dog — unless you are prepared to treat it, in a certain sense, as one of the family, to give it All the comforts of home and, in more ways than one, be its patient, faithful Servant. Be also prepared to submit to not a little inconvenience in shaping out its daily life in order that, instead of a nuisance, it may become a healthy, joyous creature that will have a lasting hold on your affections.
