MY DOG WALLACE.

Lake Wakatip Mail, Issue 2788, 11 October 1910, Page 7

MY DOG WALLACE.

(By R. B. Thompson, in "Bailey's Magazine.")

One evening I was to meet my cousin at his counting house, and at the time fixed went there, my dog,

of course, accompanying me. On reaching the office, finding that my cousin had gone out, I sat down and waited, and, as he did not make his appearance so soon as was expected, the office-keeper came and asked me if I would mind waiting by myself, as everything was locked up and my cousin could fasten the outer door himself (as, in fact, he often did). I had no objection, so all the gas but one small jet was turned out. Very shortly after the office-keeper left the door was opened very softly, and soon a man put in his head, and not discerning me in the gloom, as I purposely made no noise, came in ; and a very ill-looking customer he

was. Discovering me, he started and said something about an appointment, advancing as he spoke. Directly the man got near, with one bound WALLACE WAS ON HIM and had him down on his back on the floor. He tried to draw something out of his sleeve, but Wallace instantly seized his throat—gently, it is true, but enough to give him a foretaste of what he could do. I shouted to the man to be still or the dog would kill him, and, rising and going to him, found he had an iron jemmy in his hand, which I took» warning him that if he moved thei dog would throttle him. I went and called the police ; they came and secured the fellow, who turned out to be the head of one of the most daring set of burglars in the North. Besides the Jemmy he had a brace of loaded pistols in his pocket, and would most undoubtedly have murdered me if it had not been for Wallace.

The man had been wanted by the police for a long time and there were great rejoicings at his capture. Whenever 1 went out by day Wallace always followed me, but at night, or in the dusk, kept close to my side, with his head almost touching my leg. If he saw anyone coming towards me that he thought suspicious he would go on in front, and, turning with them as they came up, follow them by me ; and, in the same manner, if anyone was overtaking me, he dropped back, and then followed them until they had quite passed.

He did one other very clever thing while he was with me in the North. One morning I had been to the club to look at the papers, etc., and on my return home found that I had lost one of my gloves. More for the sake of experiment than really thinking the dog would ever find the missing glove, I too!- off the other, and, holding it to him, made a motion like throwing it away, saying at the same time, "Lost, Wallace ; go seek." The dog at once started off, and was away for some time—in fact, so long that, becoming uneasy, I started off towards the club. I had gone but a very little way when I saw Wallace coming along, and, to my great surprise, with the missing glove in his mouth. A policeman was following him at a respectful distance, so I went up to him and asked if he could tell me where the dog found the glove. He. told me he saw Wallace running along, evidently looking for something, as he occasionally stopped aid seemed to make sure of his direction. Following him, he saw him enter the club and remain there a short time. He then came out, began sniming about the steps, and suddenly started off briskly. The man followed, and the dog, after goins.: along one of the main streets for some way, turned down a side street, and, soon overtaking an old beggar woman, made a snatch at something in her hand, and returned at full speed. The old woman had picked up the glove on the steps of the club, and had gone off with it, and if it had not been for Wallace's extraordinary intelligence I should have lost my glove. One day after my return home, Wallace gave me a. specimen of the education he had received from the keeper. There was a very pretty wood in part of our grounds, with walks laid out in it. I was walking there with Wallace, as I thought, when suddenly I heard someone roaring out most lustily that the dog was killing him. I called out to know where the man was that was being killed, and he told me in the field outside, so I went and found him on the ground and Wallace over him— not biting or molesting him in any way, but merely looking down at the man, evidently very much puzzled as to why he made such a noise. Calling Wallace off, I asked how it happened, and the man told me that he was walking in the wood, and just stepped over the fence into the field, when the dog jumped at him and knocked him over. The fact was that Wallace had been trained to go outside any covert when the keeper went through it a nd seize any poacher that might come out. He had been taught, too, to jump at the man and knock him down by his weight, but not to bite or injure him in any way, if he made no resistance, and I expect few would have been so foolish as to do so when they saw his size and appearance.