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No Animal Laughs

No Animal Laughs image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
August
Year
1874
Copyright
Public Domain
OCR Text

It is said that no animal lauglis. Aro we quite snre that wo know hoto they laugh ? In other wonls, niay not the dog laugh with Ij is tail as he rxprcws.'s his joy, his gratitudo, his delight upon seeing his master r1 But is tho dog lift solely upon his tnil to expresa liis emotions or his affeotions'r1 We think not. We have owned dogs all our Ufe, have taken interest in them, and have watohed them in all, tor years, studying their oharaoior, etc. Oür opinión is that dogs laugh as inuch as men. We own at present a little sinnor, Spitz dog, - ft pup and full of mischiéf! Uut oL door it if ahnost impossible to control hira. Bid him oboy you nnd he leaps eight or ten reet away, bark t'm iously at you, with a "lurking devil" frtayiug about his eyes, and every mugóle of hia face in motion, - a laugh in faot ris perfect, perhaps, as any dog cmi expresa. Poor oíd "llover" and little "Joe" never met us with a smilo upon tlicir tïires. The dog of a friend in earlier possessed a most wonderful Eacility ol facial expression ; indeed ït was alinost painful to look upon tho little fallow, so intensely agoni.ing was the play of his muscles, breaking into tho most triumphant expressions upon meeting a friend. How man y nervous people will laugh iinmodcrately when they meet friends trom whom they huvo been lonS separate 1! But the most marked instanoe of a dog laugh we recall is sn incident of our e;irly boyhood, - say when from eieht to eleven years of age. A noar relativo owned a little black dog, a common cur, we are inclined to think, but " smart as a steel trap," and " bright as a dollar." Whenever we visited tho oíd farm-house that dog received us, as he received every oíd acquaintance, with a series of sneezes and a play of features impossiblo to describe. We were too youug to be a philosopher, but wo always told our good grandfather that " Jack " both sneezed and laughed at us. Let one more illustration suffice, and this is the most marked ono we now recall. When living at the South, where mocking-birds are common, a friend of ours owned a beautiful bird, but as full of fun and mischief as any animal that we ever knew ; he would imítate perfectly thecackling of hens, and the crowing of the rooster, the sounds of the sawing of wood, etc, but, worst of all, he had learned to express the joys of a let-out school held in his neighborhood ; at such times " Bill " made an intolerable racket, disturbing entire households. But his favorite and greatest feat was to cheat " Jack," the terrier, which regularly carne home with his master to meáis. The cago was hung in the back yard. In a few minutes after tho dog had got himself comfortably settled in a bertb, away would go the whistle calling the dog. as perfect an imitation of the whistle of tho master as it could be ; then the dog would run " like mad " through rooms and halls to the back yard, to be utterly confounded in not discovering his master, the bird sitting upon his perch an innocent and apparently unconcerned spectator. This whistling process would bo repeated two, three, and perhaps four times beforo the dog would detect the cheat, and tben he would retiro with a look of disgust at tlie bird, and no amount of whistling would start him again. Just as soon as " Bill " saw that the game was up, he would hop from his perch to the sido of his cage, his feathers all ruffled, and his whole expression that of intense delight, as much au to say, " Now, my boy, haven't I caught you ?" We always thought, and think ro stil], that the bird laughed. Celia Thaxter says that .1 loon laughs when it loses its game. We know not how that may be ; but we are inclined to think that a loon is no fooi, and ho may well laugh when fired at, and he dives and dodges the shot hurled at him. That parrots laugh we think there can be no doubt. One that we know, wheu scolded at, will always reply with a hearty " Good-by." There are two of them in separate cages. When one says, " How do you do ? " the other looks up jHicMflflit Jtflits.

Article

Subjects
Old News
Michigan Argus