The NEW BERN
a
FUBLISHID WIIKLY
IN THI HIAI|T OH
IA8TBRN north:
■re
■;.2
VOLUME 15
NEW BERN, N. C. 28560, FRIDAY, AUGUST 4, 1972
NUMBER 21
Yesterday was when New
Bern’s dog owners fed their pets
scraps from the table. Some
still do it, but they are in'tte
minority.
This year, in the United
States, canine lovers will spend
approximately $952 million for
pkkaged dog food. The flgure
has been increasing annu^y by
IS percent for quite some time.
Our town is full of pooches.
Some of them, even if you have
a warm spot in your heart for
man’s bmt friend, must
regarded as rather ob
jectionable. You’re wrong,
however, if you think New Bern
is by itself.
There are 32.6 million canines
in America, according to of
ficial figures. This includes mly
admitt^y owned dogs. Heaven
only knows how many strays
were missed in the count.
Since, in the past eight years,
the percentage of dog owners
has increased 27 percent,
compared with a U. S.
populatim growth of 17 percent,
dog haters are in big trouble.
At the present pace, we’ll
eventually run out of lawns and
trees in this Land of the Free.
That has already happened to
New York City, where
desecrated sidewalks attest to
the fact.
There’s a legitimate reason
for some of the increased canine
populatim. Many Americans,
fearful of the crime sweeping
our nation, are acquiring
watchdogs for homes and
places of business.
German shepherds, because
they’re large enough to suc
cessfully attack an intruder, are
much in demand, and, to a
lesser extent, great Danes, Irish
wolfhounds, and St. Bernards.
Dogs, it is believed, were our
first domesticated animals,
although cats have been in the
world’s households for
thousands of years. In
cidentally, in case you are in
terested there are 22 million
cats in America.
The figure is flexible, since it
is the nature of felines to
become parents early and often.
Unfortunately, we have grave
doubts that the government can
reverse this trend.
For what it may be worth, the
percentage of purebred dogs in
the United States had doubled
diring the past decade. Which
doesn’t impress us, seeing as
how we’ve always leaned
toward mongrels.
Writing on this subject brings
to mind a story we often tell
when speaking to gatherings out
of town. It deals with a
telei^one call that our local dog
catcher got quite some years
ago.
The angry woman on the
other end of the line screeched,
“lliere are 12 dogs on my lawn
ri^t now.”
“Do any of them look like
they’re mad?” the dog catcher
inquired. “Yes,” the wmnan
replM, “10 of teem.”
As long as there are children,
there will be dogs dose by.
Although adults vmo live alone
often seek the companionship of
of a canine, kids seem to fed
just as great a need for a pup
(Continued on page 8)
Toss your cares away and wander
Through the woodlands way ottf .ponder,
When that old song of the trail is you.