Man's best friend
Companionship of dogs codified in 1869 court case

Companionship of dogs codified in 1869 court case This week's article is dedicated to the memory of Happy, April 1986 to June 27, 2001. He was a faithful companion and friend.
Throughout history men have attempted to describe in words the faithfulness of the dog. Martin Luther said, "The dog is the most faithful of animals and would be much esteemed were it not so common. Our Lord God has made his greatest gifts the commonest."
One of my personal favorites is a quote from commentator Andy Rooney, who said, "The average dog is a nicer person than the average person."
One of the more common ways to describe a dog is "man's best friend." This adage is credited to attorney George Graham Vest, although he never actually uttered the words. Here is the story behind this saying.
The year is 1869 and the place is Big Creek, Mo. Brothers-in-law Charles Burden and Leonidas Hornsby found themselves in court after Burden charged that Hornsby had shot Old Drum, Burden's black and tan hound. To represent his interests, Burden hired Vest, who eventually went on to serve four terms as a U.S. senator. Hornsby was represented by Thomas Theodore Crittenden, who later became the Missouri governor that offered the reward that led to the shooting of Jesse James.
The evidence against Hornsby was largely circumstantial. After losing sheep and cattle to marauding animals at night, Hornsby had threatened to shoot any stray dog that happened onto his land.
On the evening of Oct. 28, 1869, Old Drum headed off into the woods chasing after game. At about 8 p.m., Burden heard gunfire from the direction of Hornsby's place. He blew his hunting horn to summon his hounds and they came running - all except Old Drum.
The next morning, Burden found Old Drum dead on the banks of the Big Creek. Burden saw reddish-brown horsehair and mud on Old Drum's underside, indicating that someone had moved the dead dog and dragged it to the creek's bank. Hornsby, Burden knew, owned a reddish-brown mule.
After a heated court battle, attorney Vest stirred the attending crowd and jury alike with his closing statement. Some accounts claim his words moved the jury of hardened Civil War veterans to tears. After conferring for less than an hour, the jury handed Burden a $100 award. Hornsby appealed to the state Supreme Court, but the justices upheld Burden's victory.
Here is Vest's closing statement:

• Gentlemen of the jury, the best friend a man has in this world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter that he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful.
• Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he may lose. It flies away from him perhaps when he needs it most. A man's reputation may be sacrificed in a moment of ill-considered action.
• The people who are prone to fall on their knees to do us honor when success is with us may be the first to throw the stone of malice when failure settles its cloud upon our heads.
• The one absolutely unselfish friend that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.
• Gentlemen of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in poverty, in health and in sickness.
  "He will sleep on the cold ground where the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may be near his master's side. He will kiss the hand that has no food to offer, he will lick the wounds and sores that come in encounters with the roughness of the world. He guards the sleep of his pauper master as if he were a prince.
• When all other friends desert, he remains. When riches take wings and reputation falls to pieces, he is as constant in his love as the sun in its journey through the heavens.
• If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies, and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its 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 the noble dog be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even to death."

The ghost of Old Drum still remains in Big Creek, Mo. The Johnson County Historical Society, which maintains the old courthouse, periodically plays host to a play re-enacting the court proceedings. And in front of the new courthouse a statue of the loyal dog stands as sentinel, a fitting memorial to Old Drum, "Man's Best Friend."
FYI: New group classes start at Petco Saturday. Class size is limited, so enroll early. Call Petco at 692-6244 for further details.
Eamon P. Riley is a professional dog trainer and animal behavioral consultant. For suggestions or comments, he can be emailed at dogmanusmc@aol.com or by calling 689-9483.