Page:Master Frisky (1902).djvu/14

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phodel kennels, where many kinds of dogs were kept. Presently, as we rounded a bend in the road, we came in full sight of the home of the dogs; and what a chorus of barking there was, ringing all the way from the deep bay of the great Dane, to the sharp cry of a basket beagle, no larger than a cat.

Many of the dogs were loose, and the younger ones came frolicking about us; but the old ones were more dignified, and stood at a distance, wagging their tails sedately. I had never seen so many dogs all at one time before, and they made a fine show. There were tall Siberian bloodhounds, with beautiful tawny coats; sleek greyhounds, lithe and graceful as the willow. There were fine Saint Bernards, whose ancestors had rescued many a snow-bound traveler in the Alps; queer German dachshunds, terriers, bull-dogs, spaniels, pointers, setters, and scores of others.

The most interesting of all to me was a fine strain of Scotch collies that had been brought from Scotland many years ago from the kennels of a nobleman. These dogs were quick of intelligence, strong and active, and the handsomest creatures that I had ever seen.

They were either red or walnut sable and white with darker markings; most of them had a white stripe on the nose, while a few had a perfect white collar clear around the neck. The owner of the kennels was very proud of these dogs, as well he might be.