enjoys to walk out with its master: it listens for his footstep, it whines in his absence, and it greets his return. Fidelity, courage, and intelligence are its attributes. It is the only animal which, from a spontaneous impulse, allies itself to the human race, shares with equal devotion the cottage of the peasant and the palace of the noble; and claims a return of the attachment it manifests, a return which every well-ordered mind will willingly accord."
The varieties of the domestic Dog are very numerous, and, as crosses of breeds comparatively pure are continually taking place, the production of mongrel-races becomes endless. Many attempts to classify the various known breeds have been made, of which we give one of the most recent, by the zoologist last quoted; which is curious, at least, as an enumeration of the well-marked varieties. Mr. Martin excludes the Dingo of Australia, and what he considers as "the true wild Dogs of India."
"1. Ears erect, or nearly so; nose pointed; hair long, often woolly; form robust and muscular; aspect more or less wolfish. | Feral[1] dog of Russia. Feral dog of Natolia. Shepherd's dog of Natolia. Persian guard-dog. Pomeranian dog. Icelandic dog. Siberian dog. Tschutschi dog. Esquimaux dog. Hare-Indian dog. Black wolf-dog of Florida Indians. Nootka dog. Shepherd's dog. |
- ↑ Feral; i. e. wild, not by original condition, but by escape from domestication.