Abstract
THE remarks on the reasoning powers of animals (dogs in particular) given in your issue of June 9 (p. 124) induce me to relate an experience of my own. We possess a dog and a cat, both males, the former called Griffon here, much like a Skye terrier, the latter a splendid animal (a cross of the Angora). These two animals are bound to each other by the closest friendship, which began thus:—The dog came to us two years ago, quite a pup—about three months old. Soon after a small, wretched, half-starved kitten arrived at our door asking hospitality. The dog at once adopted it, let it eat out of the same dish, let it sleep on the same mat (and continues to do so still), in fact took entire charge of it. A black cat, a very vicious creature, and seemingly wild, haunted our garden, to the great destruction of birds' nests and to the excessive terror of the kitten. As the dog grew, it became the kitten's protector against the black cat, and has been so now for two years. If it was indoors and heard a cry of distress from our cat, you could not hold it from flying wildly to its rescue, forcing someone to open the door, or darting through a window. It has done this so long, and with such effect, that the black cat scarcely dares show its face in the garden, as the dog invariably attacks it with fury and drives it away, following it along the road to see if it is quite gone. I do not know if you will think this worthy of insertion, but I think it curious, and I can vouch for its truth.
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C., M. Two Friends. Nature 36, 173 (1887). https://doi.org/10.1038/036173c0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/036173c0
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