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Maori Messenger : Te Karere Maori, Volume 4, Issue 89, 20 May 1852, Page 4

A Philanthropic Dog.—A correspondent of the Boston Journal, writing from Dorchester, Massachusetts, relates the following incident of bird sagacity and canine benevolence:"We have a fine dog of the mastiff breed who takes great interest in nil home allairs, and he seems t > think thai the poultry (of which we have a great many) nro uniler his especial protection ; find woe to ills unlucky rat, weasel, cat, or skunk «ho dares venture within the precincts of the yard. One morning this summer I was in my room, and hearing a commotion in the yard I looked out, and observed a fine speckled lien of the Dominique breed in great distress running from u deep earthenware jar to the dog, who was asleep about a rod from the jar, and back again. Thissherepeated two or threetimes. I saw that one of her chicks, a few days old, had fallen into the jar. and was about going to its relief, when the dog sprang up and ran to the jar. He seemed to deliberate for a momoul, then put his nose deep into the jar, and not succeeding in t iking the chicken out, placed his paw upon the edge or the jar and upset it, when the chicken ran off and joined the brood much to the relief of the 01.l hen. The dog, after deliberately lapping his paws, quickly returned to his nap; and I, ihinking that such instinct was worth recording, wrote it down at the time in my diary j and you may if you please, give it to your readers."