The best friend a man has in the world may
turn against him and become his enemy . Those who are nearest
and dearest to us may become traitors to their faith . The
people who are prone to fall on their knees when success is with
us maybe the first to throw the stone of malice when failure
settles it's cloud upon our heads .
The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man
can have in this selfish world is his dog . A man's dog stands
by him in prosperity and in poverty , in health and sickness .
He will sleep on the cold ground when the wintry winds blow
fiercely . If only he may be near the master's side . He will
kiss the hand that has no food to offer , he will lick the
wounds that come in encounters with the world.
He guards the sleep of his pauper master as
if he were a prince . When all other friends desert he remains.
And when death takes the master in it's embrace and his body is
laid away in the cold ground , no matter if all other friends
pursue their way , there by his graveside will be the noble dog
he found , his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in
alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.
(Taken from a speech to a jury by the late
Senator Vest of Missouri in the Trial of a action to recover
damage for the killing of a dog belonging to a neighbor .
Article found in an old newspaper clipping @ a Restaurant in
Brenham, Texas)