Index.





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THE DOG.


CHAPTER I.

THE EARLY HISTORY AND ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE DOG.

The Dog, next to the human being, ranks highest in the scale of
intelligence, and was evidently designed to be the companion and the
friend of man. We exact the services of other animals, and, the task
being performed, we dismiss them to their accustomed food and rest; but
several of the varieties of the dog follow us to our home; they are
connected with many of our pleasures and wants, and guard our sleeping
hours.

The first animal of the domestication of which we have any account, was
the sheep. "Abel was a keeper of sheep." [1] It is difficult to believe
that any long time would pass before the dog--who now, in every country