библиотека кинолога и охотника, литература о природе

автор(ы): Rogers R.

The Dog has, in all ages and in all countries, been esteemed as the peculiar friend and companion of man: faithful to its trust, sincere in its attachments, and docile and affectionate in its intercourse with its master and the members of his family, this animal has indeed a superior claim to this title, which, by general consent, has been awarded to the species generally. Few animals of the same family differ so essentially from each other in size and appearance as the several varieties of the dog tribe: the wolf, the fox, and the jackal, are all included as belonging to the same class of animals, and are all termed the canine species; yet while the wolf, the fox, and the jackal, each present and retain their own peculiar similarity of shape and character, the dog itself has branched out into an almost innumerable variety, many of them marked with as much peculiarity of character, and dissimilarity of appearance, as if they were animals of a distinct and separate species. The mastiff, the bull-dog, the greyhound, the harrier, and the diminutive breeds of the spaniel, all possess the distinctive and peculiar organic formation which constitutes and defines the dog; yet they are as unlike each other in size, shape, and peculiar characteristics, as are animals of a distinct race.

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