Gus and Dozer
Story posted by Gary D. Barnett
As this holiday season approaches, and the world has gone mad, it is good to reflect on our lives, family, friends, neighbors, and the innocent among us, whose lives have been turned upside down and destroyed due to humanity’s continuous drive toward its own demise. Even in this hell on earth that seems more consuming at every turn, even with the terror being pursued by the most evil among us, and even with the apathy and indifference expressed by so many during such trying times, it is heartening to hear a story of man’s best friend.
I love dogs, I have always loved dogs, and dogs love us unconditionally; a wonder so rare and special that it brings a tear to the eye of any man of conscience.
This is a true story in a time not so long ago in rural Missouri in September of 1870. Senator George G. Vest was still a lawyer, and was defending the shooting and killing of “Old Drum,” the best hunting dog of his client, This was a considered a minor case of course, but Vest’s speech to the jury became his most shining moment, and brought him fame.
“Vest’s summation to the jury at that trial has become familiar to dog lovers across the country through succeeding generations. Rather than discussing the details of the case, he eloquently praised the loyalty of a dog to his owner in terms that brought tears to the eyes of the jury and of those who have read his brief remarks in the years since. As a result, the owner was awarded damages, although the amount—whether the original twenty-five dollars or much more—is unclear.”
This is his Eulogy to the dog:
George G. Vest
Eulogy of the Dog
23 September 1870
Warrensburg, Missouri
“Gentlemen of the jury–
The best friend a man has in the world may turn against him and become his enemy. His son or daughter whom he has reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and dearest to us, those whom we trust with out happiness and our good name, may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has he may lose. It flies 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, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is the 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 when the wintry winds blow and the snow drives fiercely, if only he can 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 encounter 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 into the world, friendless and homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of accompanying him, to guard him against danger, to fight against his enemies. And when the last scene of all comes, and death takes his master in its embrace and his body is laid 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 and his eyes sad but open, in alert watchfulness, faithful and true, even unto death.“
Afterward, the speech took on a life of its own, being reprinted both in the U.S. and abroad. So famous did it become that, in 1958, the town of Warrensburg, Missouri, where the speech took place, erected a bronze statue to honor Old Drum and George G. Vest.
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