WITHOUT BARK OR BITE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22949, 29 January 1938, Page 9 (Supplement)

WITHOUT BARK OR BITE

YOUTH'S LEISURE HOUR does not usually report burglaries, but, following the example of the editor of a famous British newspaper for young folk, we cannot resist this true story of the bright side of a housebreaking episode. One night an English family returned home and found that their house had been entered by thieves. Every room had been ransacked and all the doors were open—except one. The room of the daughter of tho house had not been disturbed, and the door, usually left open, had been, closed for no apparent reason. The police detective could only offer tho rather unconvincing theory that the intruders had been disturbed. The mystery remained unsolved until about a week later, when .a member of tho household entered tho room and suddenly realised the explanation of the untouched room and tho closed door. Curled up on the young lady's bed, where it had been for some years, was a very convincing shaggy terrier. © We need not frown and say that the bed is no place for a dog, for this particular Fido has a zip fastener down its back, a silk lining, and its job is to be a nightdress-case! There can be little doubt that when the thief looked into this room by the

An Amu Story of And a Most Unusual Watchdog

light of an electric torch and saw tho fierce gleam in the glass eyes of the non-tail-wagger he hastily backed out and closed the door. The fitting climax of the story is that the daughter of the house had hidden a considerable sum of money in the dog's interior! Thus did the family find something to laugh at in their misfortune. Not only had the amateur detective beaten the professional at his own game, but the faithful Fido had proved to be quite literally a model watchdog, within his limitations. He had guarded the money trusted to his keening and routed a burglar or two without so much as a bark or a bite.