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Dogs and All about Them
·
Robert Leighton
388
Occasionally
one
hears
of
very
high
prices
being
paid
for
dogs
acknowledged
to
be
perfect
specimens
of
their
breed.
For
the
St.
Bernard
Sir
Belvidere
sixteen
hundred
pounds
were
offered.
Plinlimmon
was
sold
for
a
thousand,
the
same
sum
that
was
paid
for
the
Bulldog
Rodney
Stone.
For
the
Collies
Southport
Perfection
and
Ormskirk
Emerald
Mr.
Megson
paid
a
thousand
sovereigns
each.
Size
is
no
criterion
of
a
dog's
market
value;
Mrs.
Ashton
Cross
is
said
to
have
refused
two
thousand
pounds
for
her
celebrated
Pekinese
Chu-Erh,
and
there
are
many
lap-dogs
now
living
that
could
not
be
purchased
for
that
high
price.
These
are
sums
which
only
a
competent
judge
with
a
long
purse
would
dream
of
paying
for
an
animal
whose
tenure
of
active
life
can
hardly
be
more
than
eight
or
ten
years,
and
already
the
dog's
value
must
have
been
attested
by
his
success
in
competition.
It
requires
an
expert
eye
to
perceive
the
potentialities
of
a
puppy,
and
there
is
always
an
element
of
speculative
risk
for
both
buyer
and
seller.
Many
a
dog
that
has
been
sold
for
a
song
has
grown
to
be
a
famous
champion.
At
Cruft's
show
in
1905
the
Bulldog
Mahomet
was
offered
for
ten
pounds.
No
one
was
bold
enough
to
buy
him,
yet
eighteen
months
afterwards
he
was
sold
and
considered
cheap
at
a
thousand.
Uncertainty
adds
zest
to
a
hobby
that
is
in
itself
engaging.
Thanks
to
the
influence
of
the
Kennel
Club
and
the
institution
of
dog
shows,
which
have
encouraged
the
improvement
of
distinct
breeds,
there
are
fewer
nondescript
mongrels
in
our
midst
than
there
were
a
generation
or
so
ago.
A
fuller
knowledge
has
done
much
to
increase
the
pride
which
the
British
people
take
in
their
canine
companions,
and
our
present
population
of
dogs
has
never
been
equalled
for
good
quality
in
any
other
age
or
any
other
land.
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