Page:The power of the dog.djvu/142

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been validated.

Royal Botanical Gardens. With these exceptions, my knowledge of the Boston Terrier is confined to reading and hearsay, but from what I can learn I imagine that there is much to commend him. Were it not so, it is hardly probable that such a dog-loving race as the Americans would make a furore about him. Over two hundred and fifty have been benched at one show, and a good one is worth anything from £100 to £400.

The Boston Terrier has blossomed into a dandy of high breeding, with his even white markings usually on a clear brindle body. Was that the intention of the men who produced him in the first instance? My impression is that the desire was to manufacture a gladiator fit for the pit; and a cross between a bulldog and a terrier would be about as useful as anything for this horrible purpose. Fate, however, had in store for him a kindlier destiny than mauling his fellows and being mauled in turn.