Jack, the Fire Dog

Toby was fond of children, and when he saw a little boy coming towards him he began to wag his tail in greeting. Then he jumped upon him and tried to express his pleasure at meeting anybody who had a kind word for him.

“Poor little fellow!” said the boy, stooping to pat the lost dog. “I am afraid you are lost, and I think I had better take you to the Home.” As he spoke, he took a leash from his pocket and was about to fasten it to Toby’s collar, when away darted Toby as fast as his legs could carry him.

“The foolish little dog!” exclaimed the boy, as he rolled up his leash and put it back in his pocket. “I could have found a nice home for you if you hadn’t been so silly.”

Toby did not know that this boy had saved the lives of many stray dogs by taking them to the Home provided for those unfortunates. He always carried a leash in his pocket for that purpose, and his bright young eyes were very quick to detect a stray dog.

All that Toby knew about these public homes was what he had seen and heard of the poorhouse in his native town. He had seen old men and women sitting out on the benches under the trees in the summer time, and he had seen their faces looking out of the windows in the winter time. They looked to him very listless and forlorn, but he did not know what would have been the fate of these aged people if they had not had the shelter of this home. He had also heard people say, “Why, I had rather go to the poorhouse than do that,” and so he had come to consider that going to such an institution was about the worst thing that could happen to anybody. A poorhouse for dogs Toby thought must be a dreadful place, and he resolved that he would rather roam the streets at the risk of starving or freezing than allow himself to be taken to one.

So Toby ran until he reached the woods that he saw before him, and when he found that the boy was not following him he slackened his pace. Everything seemed very quiet and peaceful about him. Occasionally a crow cawed from one of the tall hemlocks, the harsh voices of blue-jays reached him from the clumps of neighboring trees, and the squirrels, running along the branches or jumping from tree to tree, chatted in a friendly manner with one another. Sparrows were there also, as happy and satisfied with themselves as if their constant twittering were melodious songs.

Toby watched all these inhabitants of the woods with great interest, for the country-bred dog had often watched them, and he knew their ways. It was soon evident to Toby that these little creatures were expecting something to take place, and something of a pleasant nature, too, for they were all in a happy mood. The sparrows flew backward and forward, sometimes disappearing for a while, but always turning up again as cheerful as ever. A flock of pigeons also appeared, and, alighting on the snow, some walked about in search of any stray morsels of food which might have been overlooked, while others took advantage of this opportunity to put their plumage in order.

Toby, curious to see what it could be that these little creatures were expecting, secreted himself behind a clump of barberry bushes and waited. He thought his presence was not noticed, but he was mistaken. The bright little eyes of the nuthatch were on him, and he was trying his best to find out something about the stranger. Creeping along the under side of a large limb that grew near the spot where Toby sat hidden, the bright eyes watched every motion, for nuthatches are timid birds and very suspicious of strangers.

All at once the sparrows who had disappeared from sight came flying back in great excitement, twittering as they flew: “Coming! Coming! He is almost here!” and immediately secured favorable positions on the outskirts of the party.

No sooner had the sparrows settled themselves, than a sleigh drawn by two handsome horses was seen approaching at a rapid rate. In the sleigh were two little boys and a middle-aged gentleman. One of the boys sprang out as soon as the sleigh stopped, and Toby noticed that he had a basket in his hand. The other boy sat still until the gentleman alighted and lifted him carefully out.

“Here they are, Billy!” exclaimed the little boy who had jumped out. “They are all here, and Dick the Scrapper is here too, just as cross as ever. Oh, you ought to see how handsome the squirrels look!”

“Can’t he see for himself, without that smart little chap telling him?” muttered Toby to himself.

“No, he can’t,” replied a voice from above. “Don’t you see that he is not a seeing child?”

Toby started, to find that he had been overheard, and looking up saw the little nuthatch hanging head downward, eying him sharply.

“I didn’t know you were there,” murmured Toby, taken greatly by surprise.

“I know you didn’t. I’ve been watching you for some time, and I can see that you are a lost dog.”

Meanwhile Sam was scattering the contents of his basket far and wide, reserving the finest of the nuts to tempt the squirrels to eat from his hand. He did not forget the little blind boy, and gave the largest share to him to hold.

As Toby looked from the face of the little boy who was lending his eyes to his blind friend to the genial one of his grandpapa, he began to be puzzled. “Where have I seen those faces before?” he said to himself. “I am sure I have seen them somewhere. I know I have heard the gentleman’s voice, too. You don’t hear such a pleasant one every day;” and Toby shuddered as he recalled the harsh tones of the father of the family.

Suddenly the vision of three children and a little dog looking longingly in at the tempting display of a bake-shop rose before Toby’s eyes, and he exclaimed aloud: “I have it! That is the gentleman who gave the cakes to little Maysie! and how good they did taste!”

“I thought I heard a dog bark!” cried the little boy who had brought the basket. “Didn’t you hear him, Grandpa?”

“Yes,” replied the gentleman, “and it came from behind those bushes.”

Sam ran around the clump of barberry bushes, and there crouched Toby, trembling with excitement and anxiety. The kindly expression in the little boy’s face, and the pleasant tones of his voice, however, won the confidence of the timid little dog, and he made no resistance when Sam stooped and took him up in his arms.

“He is a lost dog,” said Grandpapa, gently stroking Toby’s head. “It will never do for him to wander around in this bleak place. We must look after him.”

“I will wrap him up in the fur robe, and then he will be as warm as toast,” replied Sam, carrying the little dog to the sleigh. When he was placed in one corner of the roomy sleigh, on the soft cushion, and the warm fur robe securely tucked about him, Toby was as comfortable as any dog could hope to be.

Sam did not linger so long as usual this morning, feeding the birds and squirrels. Finding a stray dog was an unusual excitement for him, and he was eager to look after him. So he quickly emptied the contents of his basket upon the snow, and the party started for home, leaving the crumbs and nuts to be eaten at leisure.

Toby sat between the two boys, each having an arm around him, and the sleigh started. Toby had never had a sleigh-ride before, and the rapid motion of the sleigh, with the jingling of the bells quite excited him. He sat up very straight, and pricked up his ears, while his little black turned-up nose sniffed the fresh cool air.

“I can keep him, can’t I, Grandpapa?” asked Sam, hugging the little dog closely to him; and Toby listened anxiously for the answer.

“I am afraid Grandmamma would not like the idea of having him around the house,” replied Grandpapa. “A city house isn’t a good place to keep a dog in.”

“But I could keep him tied up in the washroom.” Toby looked anxiously from one to the other, while his fate was being settled.

“Oh, he would be a very unhappy little dog tied up by himself, Sam,” said Grandpapa.

“Well, he could play out in the back yard, you know, and he could go to drive with us,” pleaded Sam.

“He wouldn’t be happy kept so, Sam. He would feel like a little prisoner. I am sure by his looks that he came from the country, and he has probably had open fields to run about in. I don’t believe he was ever kept tied.”

“What can we do with him, then?” asked Sam. “If he can’t tell us where his home is, how can we take him back? I hope you don’t mean to have the poor little fellow lost again;” and Sam’s face grew as anxious as Toby’s.

“Of course I mean to provide for him, Sam,” said Grandpapa. “It is true we can’t take him to his own home, as he isn’t able to speak and tell us where it is, but we will do the next best thing. We will take him to the Home that receives all the stray dogs and cats that are taken there. It is called the ‘Animal Rescue League.’”

At these words Toby took alarm and gave a great bound to free himself. In another instant he would have leapt from the sleigh, but Sam was ready for him and tightened his grasp on the foolish little fellow.

“Why, he tried to jump out of the sleigh,” said Sam. “Do you suppose he heard what you said, Grandpapa?”

“Dogs often seem to understand what is said about them,” replied Grandpapa; “but he would be very foolish to object to being taken to such a pleasant place. He will have the kindest care until a good home is found for him.”

“Will they let him play?” asked Sam, greatly interested, and continuing to keep a strong hold upon the struggling Toby.

“Certainly they will, and he will find other dogs there too. I don’t doubt he will have a fine time.”

Foolish Toby kept up his struggles at intervals, for he couldn’t bear the thought of being taken to the Home. “A dog’s poorhouse, that is what it is,” he said to himself.

“I wonder how they happened to think of making a home for dogs that are lost,” said Sam.

“I can tell you what I know about it,” said Grandpapa. “A very tender-hearted lady who loves dogs and cats, thought there should be some place in the city where lost and neglected animals could be sent. So she went about to see people, and wrote letters about it until she got people sufficiently interested to give money towards it. Then they hired a house in the middle of the city, and all the stray dogs and cats people find are taken there and kindly cared for.”

“That lady must be very kind,” said Sam, thoughtfully. “I should like to see her.”

“Perhaps you will some day. They had a Christmas-tree for the dogs and cats last year, and I’m told they all had a fine time.”

Sam burst out laughing, and Billy laughed too, to think of a Christmas-tree for dogs and cats.

“I suppose they put on it all sorts of things that dogs and cats like,” said Sam, “bones and cakes and all such things.”

“Perhaps they put on some things for them to play with,” said Billy, who had listened with great interest to all Mr. Ledwell had said about the Home.

“I shouldn’t wonder if they did,” said Grandpapa.

“And I guess they put saucers of milk and plates of nice food under the tree,” said Billy, who had a good deal of imagination.

Toby listened to this conversation and ceased to struggle. All this sounded very well, if it were true, but he expected to find at the Home dogs sitting about listlessly, just as he had seen the old people at the poorhouse in his town. The story of the Christmas-tree pleased him greatly. “Perhaps, after all, it is not so bad as I expected,” said Toby to himself, as the sleigh stopped.