The Terrier Who Took His Bedtime Seriously
When his mistress tried to teach a pet a lesson in discipline, the dog showed he was two steps ahead.
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.
Bex, a Gordon setter, slept habitually in his master's bedroom and was always given a piece of bread to appease any possible hunger or entertain him during his night-watches. The mistress of the house occasionally uttered an unavailing protest against this practice, but at length, an absence of the dog's master occurring, the mistress thought the opportunity of teaching him better manners had come. So, on the first night, Bex was ordered upstairs without the usual tid-bit. The mistress was not without pity for the dog, for she was as devoted to his welfare and happiness as any one could be, but she thought that a short and not severe discipline would effect the reform. Early the next evening, Bex appeared hungry and was given a piece of bread, with which he retired contentedly to a corner. In a few moments he returned to his usual place with the family. When the hour for retiring came, Bex was called with some trepidation, lest the previous night's experience must be repeated, but he rose with alacrity, disappeared for an instant, and emerged from the darkness with the piece of bread, which he had taken care to provide for his night's repast.
“The mistress was not without pity for the dog, for she was as devoted to his welfare and happiness as any one could be, but the thought that a short and not severe discipline would effect the reform prevented her from weakly yielding.”
A light-hearted human-interest story from the 1889 Seattle Post-Intelligencer, this piece captures the universal, enduring bond between Seattleites and their pets. Even in the midst of the city's massive post-fire reconstruction efforts noted elsewhere on the same page, the antics of a clever dog provided a necessary bit of joy for readers.
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