By WALTER C. ABBOTT, Jr.

There are many reasons to own a dog. And a lot of things go into the kind of dog you want. Some people just want a dog for a companion, some want one to be a guard dog to keep unwanted visitors away, and some people keep a dog to take the blame for unwanted happenings. Some people own a dog so they'll have something to boss around or be the master of.

My brother and I had a dog. Jim was his name. We owned him from the time he was born until he died of rabies at the age of ten. Jim had several uses. He was a good watch dog. He kept varmints away from the homestead. A raccoon or a possum never approached. But his primary use was as a companion for Bill and me and for our sisters when we were out and about on the Place. We hoped he would be a good hunting dog, but he was a disappointment there. He chased the game away before we had a chance to shoot.

We always saw that Jim had plenty to eat, but I don't remember any of us ever buying dog food. He ate what we ate-all the left-overs--and if there weren't enough leftovers, Mama would bake him a pan of corn bread. What I'm getting around to is telling you about a dog that evidently didn't get enough to eat during a period in his life and how it changed him.

This dog started appearing at our school every once in a while. He'd come during morning recess, sneak into a classroom, grab a lunch bag, run out, and then disappear into a nearby thicket. There were reports of him visiting homes in the area and eating eggs from hens' nests. That's the reason we all called him that "suck egg dog".

For a while he was living off the fat of the land. Finally, he made a big mistake: He stole a lunch that belonged to one of the boys in the senior class. The four or five boys who were seniors got busy planning ways to get rid of "old suck egg".

Maybe it was Gene Brown and a boy named Breaux who hit on a solution. Breaux went by the name of "Pieyie". Where he got that name I have no idea, but it's a good name to go by, or so I thought. Anyway they somehow got into the chemistry lab and swiped some "High Life". They knew if you put it on a dog he'd leave the country, country meaning immediate vicinity.

One day when they saw "old suck egg" go into a room at recess time, they cornered him, caught him, and sneaked him into the boys' rest room. "Outhouse" was what it really was.

The dog was a mixed breed, part hound, part cur, and probably some collie. The reason we thought he was part cur was his off-colored eye. His long hair came from the collie in his ancestry. When Pieyie poured the "High Life" on the back of his neck and shoulders he didn't seem to mind until Gene took a stick and rubbed in tin. That's when he gave a loud yelp and started running. He went straight for the school and went into one of the rooms where the students were just settling down from recess. He went under several desks, including the teacher's, yelping continuously. He then went down the hall the entire length. About that time someone shouted "mad dog." The school was empty in no time. A mad dog, one with rabies, was looked upon as about the worst thing you could think of. The last that was seen of old "suck egg" he was running and yelping down the lane going towards Mr. Hilly Webb's pond. The senior boys got a good tanning from Mr. J.G. Wise, the principal, but they figured it was worth the discomfort.

The above article is one of a series of personal reminiscences by Walter C. Abbott, from his book "Tales About People and Places in Louisiana." Mr. Abbott, a native of Ascension Parish, retired in 1974 after 30 years as County Agent in Jackson Parish, Louisiana. His book is available for $9.00 plus $2.00 shipping, from W.C. Abbott, Jr. 122 Dale Drive, Jonesboro, LA 71422.