COUGA

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume LXXII, 26 November 1938, Page 12

COUGA

Here, boys and girls, is a picture of Couga, a wonderful little wire-haired terrier who lives in Nelson. Alice was very thrilled when she received an invitation to visit Couga. but was very sorry White Rabbit wasn’t able to go with her. Couga is only two years old and has won cups at Dog Shows, so you see he is Quite a Person to begin with. When visitors arrive he likes to walk round them and make their acquaintance before he performs any of his clever tricks, and if you happen to have been handling another dog just beforehand. Couga is inclined to be suspicious of you. 1 Oh, I do wish you could all see him [ when he plays the piano! “Play the piano, Couga!” commands : his mistress, and the obedient little terrier goes over to the piano and ’ climbs up on to the music stool, where he sits on his haunches and puts fii'st

one paw and then the other on the keys. He looks round to make sure his audience are giving him their undivided attention. and then he plays! Up and down the keys he goes, though he shows a strong preference for the bass, and now and again he makes a little whiny sort of noise as if ho were trying to sing. too. At intervals he looks round as if to “What do you think of that?" and if you laugh—oh. you mustn't laugh at ail. He doesn’t like it. Couga. you see. takes his music very seriously, so whatever you do, you I mustn’t laugh and hurt his feelings, i But playing the piano isn’t Couga * : only accomplishment. He can hurdle las well as any boy of the Wonderland I Club, and all on his hind legs, too. I It is really amazing what this clever terrier can do. He will walk all roun| j the room on his hind legs, if told to do so. and even stand still for a few seconds, a very hard feat for a dog to perform. • Then another trick calling for agility and a good sense of balance is the one where Couga‘s master places one tall narrow tin on top of another and Couga walks all around eyeing them carefully. Having worked out in hit shrewd doggie mind exactly how the

thing is to be done, he reaches up and puts his front paws on the top tin and without losing his balance brings up his back paws, so that they all rest on a tiny space not really big enough, ftnd there he poises like a statue. Clever | Couga! I I would love you to see him dressed up. In this picture of him he is all ready for a morning's shopping, but sometimes he pretends to visit a barber’s shop for a shave, and Alice was tickled to pieces to see him with his pipe in his mouth and holding a parasol over his head! Couga can play cards, too, and would make the grand- ,. est pal any boy or girl could wish for.