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The Heart of a Dog
When the Stippled Silver Kennel, Inc., went into the wholesale raising of silver foxes for a world market, its two partners brought to the enterprise a comfortable working capital and an uncomfortable ignorance of the brain-reactions of a fox.
They had visited the National Exhibition of silver foxes. They had spent days at successful fox farms, studying every detail of management and memorising the rigid diet-charts. They had committed to memory every fact and hint in Bulletin No. 1151 of the United States Department of Agriculture—issued for the help of novice breeders of silver foxes.
They had mastered each and every available scrap of exact information concerning the physical welfare of captive silver foxes. But, for lack of half a lifetime’s close application to the theme, their knowledge of fox mentality and fox nature was nil.
2Now one may raise chickens or hogs or even cattle, without taking greatly into account the inner workings of such animals’ brains. But no man yet has made a success of raising foxes or their fifth cousin, the collie, without spending more time in studying out the mental than the physical beast.
On the kitchen wall of the Stippled Silver Kennel, Inc., was the printed dietary of silver foxes. On the one library shelf of the kennel was all the available literature on silver fox breeding, from government pamphlets to a three-volume monograph. In the four-acre space within the kennel enclosure were thirty model runways, twenty by twenty feet; each equipped with a model shelter-house and ten of them further fitted out with model brood nests.
In twenty-four of these thirty model runways abode twenty-four model silver foxes, one to each yard at this autumn season—twenty-four silver foxes, pedigreed and registered—foxes whose lump value was something more than $7,400. Thanks to the balanced rations and meticulous care lavished on them, all twenty-four were in the pink of form.
All twenty-four seemed as nearly contented as can a wild thing which no longer has the zest of gambling with death for its daily food and which is stared at with indecent closeness and frequency by dread humans.
- Taken from "The Heart of a Dog" written by Albert Payson Terhune
They had visited the National Exhibition of silver foxes. They had spent days at successful fox farms, studying every detail of management and memorising the rigid diet-charts. They had committed to memory every fact and hint in Bulletin No. 1151 of the United States Department of Agriculture—issued for the help of novice breeders of silver foxes.
They had mastered each and every available scrap of exact information concerning the physical welfare of captive silver foxes. But, for lack of half a lifetime’s close application to the theme, their knowledge of fox mentality and fox nature was nil.
2Now one may raise chickens or hogs or even cattle, without taking greatly into account the inner workings of such animals’ brains. But no man yet has made a success of raising foxes or their fifth cousin, the collie, without spending more time in studying out the mental than the physical beast.
On the kitchen wall of the Stippled Silver Kennel, Inc., was the printed dietary of silver foxes. On the one library shelf of the kennel was all the available literature on silver fox breeding, from government pamphlets to a three-volume monograph. In the four-acre space within the kennel enclosure were thirty model runways, twenty by twenty feet; each equipped with a model shelter-house and ten of them further fitted out with model brood nests.
In twenty-four of these thirty model runways abode twenty-four model silver foxes, one to each yard at this autumn season—twenty-four silver foxes, pedigreed and registered—foxes whose lump value was something more than $7,400. Thanks to the balanced rations and meticulous care lavished on them, all twenty-four were in the pink of form.
All twenty-four seemed as nearly contented as can a wild thing which no longer has the zest of gambling with death for its daily food and which is stared at with indecent closeness and frequency by dread humans.
- Taken from "The Heart of a Dog" written by Albert Payson Terhune
136 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1924
3 people are currently reading
143 people want to read
About the author
Albert Payson Terhune
326 books75 followersAlbert Payson Terhune (1872 - 1942), a local author of some fame, wrote numerous adventures about Collies, most notably, "Lad, A Dog", "Sunnybank: Home of Lad", and "Further Adventures of Lad". Sunnybank, his home on the eastern shore of Pompton Lakes in northern New Jersey, was originally the home of Terhune's parents, Edward Payson Terhune and Mary Virginia Hawes Terhune. Later as his home with his wife, Anice Stockton Terhune, Sunnybank became famous as "The Place" in the many stories of Terhune. Much of the land once constituting the Sunnybank estate was lost to developers in the 1960's with the house being demolished in 1969. Fortunately though, the central 9.6 acres was preserved through the dedicated efforts of Terhune fans and dog fanciers, and is now Terhune Sunnybank Memorial Park, administered by the Wayne Township Parks Department.
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
April 10, 2022
Apr 7, 1115pm ~~ Review asap.
Apr 9, 745pm ~~ This is a collection of seven short stories and a final non-fiction offering that introduces the reader to the actual collie named Treve, who was the inspiration for what the author calls his Treve stories. And of course, since I had never read anything about a collie named Treve, I checked at Gutenberg and saw the book there so I added it to this Every dog Has Its Day challenge list.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, The Heart Of A Dog. Right. I love the way Terhune uses words, he does write such an elegant story! And I liked the stories in this book, but I especially enjoyed the ones featuring Master and Mistress and the Place, which was how the author referred to himself, his wife and their estate in any story featuring themselves and their own collies. Other fictional dogs were based on combinations of the various aspects of other true life dogs Terhune knew or had owned.
Terhune's world of dogs is not always sweetness and light. There is cruelty, there is hunger and danger and trouble. But there is also beauty, courage and honesty. Just like in real life. So you do have to be ready for just about anything when reading this book.
The first story, Fox, begins on a farm where silver foxes are bred for their pelts. But two of them escape, and we see how they survive in a wilderness they had not been bred to see. Is there a collie in this tale? Yes, of course. The collie here is a young pup stolen by the dog fox in a desperate effort to feed his family. But when he gets back to the den, he finds his mate mourning the loss of their puppies due to heavy rains which got into the den. Instead of eating the collie pup, the vixen adopts him and teaches him everything she has learned about life in the wild. But what happens when the pup's wild upbringing clashes with the generations of collie nature deep in his heart?
One of my favorite stories (and the only one I could remember from a previous reading in ancient days) was The Coming Of Lad, where Lad learns what it takes to be a loyal guard dog at the Place. Other stories were The Meanest Man (another favorite), The Tracker, and Youth Will be Served. In that one a dog show judge had to face the dilemma of choosing between a champion dog that the judge felt was the ideal collie, the collie of all collies, and that dog's own son, who seemed to be even better! Would the judge be able to be honest with himself and choose wisely or would his judgment be warped by sentiment?
These stories were all originally published from 1920 through 1924. I imagine the ones about Lad are actually taken from the book Lad A Dog. Probably the chapter about Bruce came from his own book as well, but that is just a guess.
Don't let the three star rating fool you. For me that means exactly what GR says it means: I liked the book. I'm not entirely sure it should be considered a children's book, though. There seems to be a tendency to believe that older dog stories were always meant for children, but I think Terhune wrote more for adults. Or maybe he felt that children of his day were more ready to handle the topics that come up in his stories, I don't know. This topic makes me think of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. That has become the classic child's horse story, but it was originally written for adults, not children.
Well, anyway, as usual with dog books, there are traumatic scenes, and a few gut-wrenching endings here, but the stories are full of heart.
Apr 9, 745pm ~~ This is a collection of seven short stories and a final non-fiction offering that introduces the reader to the actual collie named Treve, who was the inspiration for what the author calls his Treve stories. And of course, since I had never read anything about a collie named Treve, I checked at Gutenberg and saw the book there so I added it to this Every dog Has Its Day challenge list.
Anyway, where was I? Oh, The Heart Of A Dog. Right. I love the way Terhune uses words, he does write such an elegant story! And I liked the stories in this book, but I especially enjoyed the ones featuring Master and Mistress and the Place, which was how the author referred to himself, his wife and their estate in any story featuring themselves and their own collies. Other fictional dogs were based on combinations of the various aspects of other true life dogs Terhune knew or had owned.
Terhune's world of dogs is not always sweetness and light. There is cruelty, there is hunger and danger and trouble. But there is also beauty, courage and honesty. Just like in real life. So you do have to be ready for just about anything when reading this book.
The first story, Fox, begins on a farm where silver foxes are bred for their pelts. But two of them escape, and we see how they survive in a wilderness they had not been bred to see. Is there a collie in this tale? Yes, of course. The collie here is a young pup stolen by the dog fox in a desperate effort to feed his family. But when he gets back to the den, he finds his mate mourning the loss of their puppies due to heavy rains which got into the den. Instead of eating the collie pup, the vixen adopts him and teaches him everything she has learned about life in the wild. But what happens when the pup's wild upbringing clashes with the generations of collie nature deep in his heart?
One of my favorite stories (and the only one I could remember from a previous reading in ancient days) was The Coming Of Lad, where Lad learns what it takes to be a loyal guard dog at the Place. Other stories were The Meanest Man (another favorite), The Tracker, and Youth Will be Served. In that one a dog show judge had to face the dilemma of choosing between a champion dog that the judge felt was the ideal collie, the collie of all collies, and that dog's own son, who seemed to be even better! Would the judge be able to be honest with himself and choose wisely or would his judgment be warped by sentiment?
These stories were all originally published from 1920 through 1924. I imagine the ones about Lad are actually taken from the book Lad A Dog. Probably the chapter about Bruce came from his own book as well, but that is just a guess.
Don't let the three star rating fool you. For me that means exactly what GR says it means: I liked the book. I'm not entirely sure it should be considered a children's book, though. There seems to be a tendency to believe that older dog stories were always meant for children, but I think Terhune wrote more for adults. Or maybe he felt that children of his day were more ready to handle the topics that come up in his stories, I don't know. This topic makes me think of Black Beauty by Anna Sewell. That has become the classic child's horse story, but it was originally written for adults, not children.
Well, anyway, as usual with dog books, there are traumatic scenes, and a few gut-wrenching endings here, but the stories are full of heart.
August 14, 2022
Albert Payson Terhune's book 'Lad: A Dog' is one of my favorites. His book 'Further Adventures of Lad' is also a great book. I would suggest reading those two books and not this one. If you don't have access to those two books, then this book has two stories from those other books that are very good. I thought the rest of the stories in this book was not up to the same level.
The Cinderella story in this book, Lochinvar Bobby, was a bit interesting if you enjoy Terhune's brand of tall tales. In this one the ugly puppy who has a spell having to survive in the wilds for a while, later is described as:
- Never before, in all the Westminster Club’s forty-odd shows, had such a collie been led into the ring. Eugenie breeding, wise rationing and tireless human care had gone to the perfecting of other dogs. But Mother Nature herself made Lochinvar Bobby what he was. She had fed him bountifully upon the all-strengthening ration of the primal beast; and she had given him the exercise-born appetite to eat and profit by it. Her pitiless winter winds had combed and winnowed his coat as could no mortal hand, giving it thickness and length and richness beyond belief. And she had molded his growing young body into the peerless model of the Wild.
Then, because he had the loyal heart of a collie and not the incurable savagery of the wolf, she had awakened his soul and made him bask rapturously in the friendship of a true dog-man. The combination was unmatchable.
I love Terhune's writing, but for some of the stories in this book, not as much.
The Cinderella story in this book, Lochinvar Bobby, was a bit interesting if you enjoy Terhune's brand of tall tales. In this one the ugly puppy who has a spell having to survive in the wilds for a while, later is described as:
- Never before, in all the Westminster Club’s forty-odd shows, had such a collie been led into the ring. Eugenie breeding, wise rationing and tireless human care had gone to the perfecting of other dogs. But Mother Nature herself made Lochinvar Bobby what he was. She had fed him bountifully upon the all-strengthening ration of the primal beast; and she had given him the exercise-born appetite to eat and profit by it. Her pitiless winter winds had combed and winnowed his coat as could no mortal hand, giving it thickness and length and richness beyond belief. And she had molded his growing young body into the peerless model of the Wild.
Then, because he had the loyal heart of a collie and not the incurable savagery of the wolf, she had awakened his soul and made him bask rapturously in the friendship of a true dog-man. The combination was unmatchable.
I love Terhune's writing, but for some of the stories in this book, not as much.
April 4, 2024
This was an amazing book. Albert Payson Terhune is a really good author, and I like his style of writing a ton. This was a good book, which included a few stories, telling about different stories of dogs. Each one is supposed to show different views of a dogs heart. Loving, careful with children, Loyal, etc.
So, I really enjoyed it.
So, I really enjoyed it.
September 3, 2021
Each chapter stood on its own, so I ended up usually only reading one chapter a day. While I love reading about how smart, loyal, and beautiful dogs can be, Terhune's stories often include aspects that bother me (as I realize how sheltered a life I have led), One is including scenes of dogs fighting for their lives -- or the life of someone they love. I'm not used to fighting--never had to. Another is how he portrays human ignorance and cruelty towards dogs. Yes, there are uplifting stories too so I guess it all balances out and teaches children about life with its inherent ups and downs.
November 21, 2019
A collection of short stories, some I had read before, others were new to me, all were enjoyable. For my money no one could write dog stories like the late Albert Payson Terhune. Anyone who can read his stories both anecdotal and fictionalized of his beloved Sunnybank collies and not at some point get at least a little misty-eyed is either not a true dog lover or has a heart of stone.
January 10, 2022
The majority of these stories are found in other books by Terhune: they include some of the classic stories of Lad and Wolf and other endearing collies. Unfortunately, the stories (written about dogs who lived more than 100 years ago), which I loved when I was a kid 40 years ago, have not held up as well in the 21st century. Even though Terhune himself loved his animals, the harsh brutality of how others treated their (or his) dogs in some of the stories might be difficult for some to read.
February 16, 2019
Even though I have already read most of these stories in other books I really enjoyed reading these. They made me want to re-read all the books I already have. I can not wait to find all the rest of the books to read about all the other dogs.
February 6, 2020
Was gifted this book by my late grandfather so may be a little biased. Nonetheless, for me to finish a book means it is fantastic and I was sad when it ended. Terhune's glorious, old-time style has inspired me to write more.
May 20, 2024
These stories were especially healing, as I lost a wonderful companion this past fall. It really tunes into the dogs themselves, & stories that are still as relatable today as they were back then. It was comforting for me to read, especially since it also included in the stories about dog shows, which I wished I could have entered with my beloved boy myself. So thankful I found this book.
June 9, 2018
Anything by Albert Payson Terhune is a clear winner in my book. Lovely stories about dogs and the people who loved them.
September 17, 2021
I read this book years ago, and I found it again. Same good book.
July 22, 2023
I thought this was a satire of the Soviet system but it’s a book about collies
July 7, 2024
If you love dogs, and especially Collies you will love this collection of dogs with big hearts!
October 31, 2018
The first thing to remember when reading this is that these short stories were not necessarily written anywhere near the same time as each other, not originally being published in book form. So while some of the terms are reused perhaps more often than they ought to be, many of them are used only once or twice per story. Certainly by today's standards, many of these stories are quite dark and violent, but less so than, say White Fang or Call of the Wild, which were published around the same time, and which are still thrust upon -often unwilling- children and teens today.
Somewhere between Fox! and Lochinvar Bobby lies another, much better story (It is worth mentioning that the Bobby of Lochinvar Bobby seems to have no relation whatsoever to Terhune's collie of the same name). The similarities between the two cannot be overlooked, and I'm not sure why you'd put them both in the same book. I doubt they were written one right after the other. However, they both at least fit the theme of the book.
The same cannot really be said of The Meanest Man and Youth Will Be Served, which -rather than being about the heart of a dog- seem to be about the cleverness of his master and the heart of a show judge respectively. I will say I enjoyed seeing another adventure of Link's after the final events of His Dog, and Link is one of the slightly more developed of Terhune's human characters, but it seems an odd choice for this collection.
Both Youth Will Be Served and Lochinvar Bobby are somewhat focused upon the showing of dogs, which has far more to do with a man's ego than with the canine heart, particularly in the case of the former story. We truly see only a glimmer of the dog, and far more of the man. In the latter, I felt keenly the similarity to Fox! but was not as compelled by it, as if it were a slap-dashed attempt to give different ending to that (presumably) earlier story.
I was somewhat disappointed to find that two stories I had already read, The Coming of Lad and Tracker, were in this book, as I already have a copy of The Further Adventures of Lad. Nor are these two -in my opinion- the best examples of Lad stories. But perhaps The Heart of a Dog was published first. Certainly the edition of it which I have is far older than the edition of Further Adventures of Lad that I have (the edition of Heart that I have being somewhat near a hundred years old).
One Minute Longer is alright, and I was pleased by another adventure of Wolf's, but it's somewhat forgettable somehow, never quite getting itself off the ground.
So why the high rating, you ask? Firstly because of a love of Terhune's writings. This book may not contain my choice stories, but it is Terhune and I am very fond of his writings. I do sometimes wish that some of his more fanciful tales had not been told, because of the utmost seriousness and respect with which he describes the dogs, that being an all-too-rare way of seeing and depicting them. But the less believable tales sort of make the dogs feel less real than they otherwise would. This is especially true since, in today's world, you wouldn't give these books to young children, and most older folks can't quite suspend their disbelief high enough for the more imaginative stories.
But the second reasoning is Chapter 8, Afterword. In this, he for a moment lays aside the fictional aspects of his stories, and speaks fondly of a profoundly unusual dog named Treve. He also, in brief, describes the final heroic act of the real Wolf, and does so better here than in the book about that dog, for the fictional account borders on the goofy, where the true story has the mark of nobility.
And, as one who has loved dogs, and known them well, the final words of that final chapter struck a chord in me that I was simply unable to ignore. For that chapter alone, this book is worth reading. Not only is it great by itself, it lends much insight into the author, and adds a new dimension to all of the other stories.
Somewhere between Fox! and Lochinvar Bobby lies another, much better story (It is worth mentioning that the Bobby of Lochinvar Bobby seems to have no relation whatsoever to Terhune's collie of the same name). The similarities between the two cannot be overlooked, and I'm not sure why you'd put them both in the same book. I doubt they were written one right after the other. However, they both at least fit the theme of the book.
The same cannot really be said of The Meanest Man and Youth Will Be Served, which -rather than being about the heart of a dog- seem to be about the cleverness of his master and the heart of a show judge respectively. I will say I enjoyed seeing another adventure of Link's after the final events of His Dog, and Link is one of the slightly more developed of Terhune's human characters, but it seems an odd choice for this collection.
Both Youth Will Be Served and Lochinvar Bobby are somewhat focused upon the showing of dogs, which has far more to do with a man's ego than with the canine heart, particularly in the case of the former story. We truly see only a glimmer of the dog, and far more of the man. In the latter, I felt keenly the similarity to Fox! but was not as compelled by it, as if it were a slap-dashed attempt to give different ending to that (presumably) earlier story.
I was somewhat disappointed to find that two stories I had already read, The Coming of Lad and Tracker, were in this book, as I already have a copy of The Further Adventures of Lad. Nor are these two -in my opinion- the best examples of Lad stories. But perhaps The Heart of a Dog was published first. Certainly the edition of it which I have is far older than the edition of Further Adventures of Lad that I have (the edition of Heart that I have being somewhat near a hundred years old).
One Minute Longer is alright, and I was pleased by another adventure of Wolf's, but it's somewhat forgettable somehow, never quite getting itself off the ground.
So why the high rating, you ask? Firstly because of a love of Terhune's writings. This book may not contain my choice stories, but it is Terhune and I am very fond of his writings. I do sometimes wish that some of his more fanciful tales had not been told, because of the utmost seriousness and respect with which he describes the dogs, that being an all-too-rare way of seeing and depicting them. But the less believable tales sort of make the dogs feel less real than they otherwise would. This is especially true since, in today's world, you wouldn't give these books to young children, and most older folks can't quite suspend their disbelief high enough for the more imaginative stories.
But the second reasoning is Chapter 8, Afterword. In this, he for a moment lays aside the fictional aspects of his stories, and speaks fondly of a profoundly unusual dog named Treve. He also, in brief, describes the final heroic act of the real Wolf, and does so better here than in the book about that dog, for the fictional account borders on the goofy, where the true story has the mark of nobility.
And, as one who has loved dogs, and known them well, the final words of that final chapter struck a chord in me that I was simply unable to ignore. For that chapter alone, this book is worth reading. Not only is it great by itself, it lends much insight into the author, and adds a new dimension to all of the other stories.
October 13, 2016
I shall begin this review by stating that this collection is not what I would consider a book for children. These and others of Terhune's collie stories include descriptions of dogs suffering abuse or severe discipline, being killed, fighting to the death, slaughtering other animals, and struggling to survive in the wilderness.
To an adult reading these tales today, Terhune must sound like a man obsessed - a fanatical dog-worshiper. What you must realize is that Terhune was the real deal. The collie was a hobby and an income source and a way of life for him. He bred and showed champions and the stories he wrote were all based in truth.
Terhune, himself, was "the master".
"The Place" was his New Jersey estate, Sunnybank.
The collies featured in the various stories were his actual dogs and their bloodlines continue to this day.
You can run a quick Google search and visit the official site to see photographs of the estate and Terhune with Lad, Bruce, Wolf, and other collies familiar to readers.
Say what you will about Terhune's writing, though I think it is pretty solid stuff, ignoring an abusive repetition of certain phrases, such as "look of eagles".
Say what you like about the treatment of and general attitude toward animals in his stories - this was the 1890's to the 1930's, give or take.
However, if you really want to give Terhune a fair shot, if you would like to see what these stories are really about and get a feel for who Terhune really was and what his dogs meant to him, then I recommend you read the final chapter of this collection, the afterword, which consists of Terhune recollecting a particular dog named Treve.
Begin there, with the ending, and then you may fairly decide on the rest of his dog stories.
To an adult reading these tales today, Terhune must sound like a man obsessed - a fanatical dog-worshiper. What you must realize is that Terhune was the real deal. The collie was a hobby and an income source and a way of life for him. He bred and showed champions and the stories he wrote were all based in truth.
Terhune, himself, was "the master".
"The Place" was his New Jersey estate, Sunnybank.
The collies featured in the various stories were his actual dogs and their bloodlines continue to this day.
You can run a quick Google search and visit the official site to see photographs of the estate and Terhune with Lad, Bruce, Wolf, and other collies familiar to readers.
Say what you will about Terhune's writing, though I think it is pretty solid stuff, ignoring an abusive repetition of certain phrases, such as "look of eagles".
Say what you like about the treatment of and general attitude toward animals in his stories - this was the 1890's to the 1930's, give or take.
However, if you really want to give Terhune a fair shot, if you would like to see what these stories are really about and get a feel for who Terhune really was and what his dogs meant to him, then I recommend you read the final chapter of this collection, the afterword, which consists of Terhune recollecting a particular dog named Treve.
Begin there, with the ending, and then you may fairly decide on the rest of his dog stories.
June 29, 2017
This book contains several short stories by Albert Payson Terhune. The canine characters in these stories are brave, loving, courageous, intelligent, and faithful dogs, both feral and domestic. These tales will thrill any dog lover and convert the indifferent with the endearing and adventurous dog stories. I couldn't put it down and binge read one story after the other. Before I read this collection, our family had only outdoor dogs. Now we have a sweet girl, Ginger Pye, who is queen of the house and is even allowed on the couch or up on the bed when invited. She guards our home and watches over us as we sleep, protecting us from intruders and even the shadows cast on the wall and ceiling by the late night reader with a book light! So readers beware...
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September 11, 2007Terhune, Albert Payson
December 8, 2009
This is the rating I would have given it as a kid. I have a feeling that today I'd find it saccharine, and unrealistic.
July 19, 2014
Collie’s devotion to its owner through courage and devotion.
November 28, 2016
I had a hard time reading the book in some parts of the story because of the way the author had wrote it but it's probably just me!
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews