The Kennel Club's Howling Success
High-society dog shows in 1891 Seattle were noisy affairs, complete with terrier rat-killing matches and stolen St. Bernards.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
Musical at Citizen's market reached the crescendo yesterday. The high tenor of the greyhounds, the soprano from the fox terriers, the setters' baritone, the squeak from the puppies and the profando of the mastiffs and St. Bernards, all singed in irregular measure without regard to time, made what it was—discord to the musicians' ear. The Great Dane dog Murat, owned by P. H. Lawrence of Tacoma, was returned to the show yesterday after being absent twenty-four hours. Lawrence denies he took the dog away out of chagrin at being given second prize; he claims the dog slipped his collar and escaped. Meanwhile, the St. Bernard, Alton, owned by K. C. Kirby of Seattle, was missing from his bench when the judging occurred, and though he was awarded second prize, his owner felt he should have taken first. For today's exhibition, the Kennel Club has arranged to test the usefulness of the terriers with a rat-killing match in the ring. A large number of live rats will be let loose, and the terriers given a chance to show their worth, to say nothing of the spectators.
“The high tenor of the greyhounds, the soprano from the fox terriers, the setters' baritone, the squeak from the puppies and the profando of the mastiffs... all singed in irregular measure.”
The 1891 Bench Show at Citizen's Market highlights how public entertainment has shifted from Victorian-era blood sports to today's focus on animal welfare. While the competitive dog world remains, the casual public spectacle of 'rat-killing matches' is a reminder of how quickly the moral boundaries of public entertainment evolve.
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