SAVED BY A DOG.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVII, Issue 8264, 24 May 1890, Page 2 (Supplement)

SAVED BY A DOG.

A YOUNG LAWYER'S NARROW ESCAPE FROM DEATH.

Anyone who is sceptical as to the intelligence of dogs ought to talk to Perry Walton, a young lawyer of New York. " A few days ago," he said to me, " I went to Newark to see my parents, and at 10 o'clock in the evening I retired to my room to read. It has been my habit to read in bed for a great many years. My dog, an Irish setter, was lying on a rug on the floor. After reading for some time I began to feel drowsy, and was about to put out tho gas when my brother came to see if I was comfortable, and as he was leaving I asked him to put out the gas. He did so, bade me good-night and went out. I soon fell asleep. How long I slept I do not know, but I was awakened by my dog barking furiously and jumping' on and off the bed. As soon as I had recovered my senses I noticed a strong smell of gas in my room. I groped my way to the bracket, felt for the key, and found it open. I turned it off, and then sank insensible to the floor. It was some hours before I was brought back to my senses, the dog's barking having aroused the household. On turning off the gas my brother had accidentally turned it on again. The dog's presence in my room had saved my life, for without him I would have been asphyxiated." *