I belonged to a man who keeps a livery stable here in Fairport,
and he used to hire me out to shooting parties.
"I was a favorite with all the gentlemen. I was crazy with delight when
I saw the guns brought out, and would jump up and bite at them. I loved
to chase birds and rabbits, and even now when the pigeons come near me,
I tremble all over and have to turn away lest I should seize them. I
used often to be in the woods from morning till night. I liked to have a
hard search after a bird after it had been shot, and to be praised for
bringing it out without biting or injuring it.
"I never got lost, for I am one of those dogs that can always tell where
human beings are. I did not smell them. I would be too far away for
that, but if my master was standing in some place and I took a long
round through the woods, I knew exactly where he was, and could make a
short cut back to him without returning in my tracks.
"But I must tell you about my trouble. One Saturday afternoon a party of
young men came to get me. They had a dog with them, a cocker spaniel
called Bob, but they wanted another. For some reason or other, my master
was very unwilling to have me go.
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