Killing Old Rascal  - The killing of old rascal was a hard thing for us boys. We first met the dog we called Old Rascal when he belonged to a neighbor of ours. We would pass our neighbors house on the way to school. This dog was just a pup then. He would come running toward us barking we would ignore him and he was right close to us than we would holler at him and run at him slapping our pants legs. He would tuck his tail between his legs and ran off yapping.

Somewhere along the road the neighbor gave the dog to our dad. I don't know that I ever heard why. But we ended up with the dog and he was a good dog. He was a good stock dog and a good hunting dog. We hunted squirrel with him, he treated them we shot them. He became also a good guard dog. It was his ability as a guard dog that brought his demise. The older he got the meaner he became. There were four of us children, and it did not matter which one of us it was, who could control the dog. When company came we would simply put our hand on the dog and he would be still until the person had walked in the front gate into the house. When the screen door close on the man as he walk in the house we would let go of the dog. The dog would lunge at the man again the screen door. We had to repeat the same action when the man was laying the house, that is lay our hands on the dogs back until the man without the gate. When we took our hand on the dogs back he tried to get at the man through the fence. This happened with all visitors who came to see us.

One day when none of us children were at home a man came for a visit. Only my mother and father were at home. My dad had to hold the dog off with a pitchfork while a man came into the house. He had to repeat the same action as the man was leaving. My dad said," I won't have a dog around this house that I can't control." There was another man in our community who wanted such a dog. My brother and I took the dog over to the man's house and tied the dog up. The man fed the dog every day and gave it water. Every day when the man came out of his house the dog lunged against his chain trying to get the man. This went on for two weeks with no good results. Finally, he told us boys to come and get the dog. My dad told us we would have to put the dog down. We came and took the dog down into the woods. My brother had brought the 22 which was a single shot gun. I watched this scene, my brother pointing the 22 rifle at the dog's head a short distance away and the dog wagging his tail at my brother, and tears running down my brother's cheeks, as he pulled the trigger. This was a hard thing to do. It is better to do the hard thing than for someone, especially a child to be attacked by a vicious dog.