“Senator Vest, of Missouri, was attending a court in a country town, and
while waiting for the trial of a case in which he was interested, he was
urged by the attorneys in a dog case to help them. He was paid a fee of
$250 by the plaintiff. Voluminous evidence was introduced to show that
the defendant had shot the dog in malice, while the other evidence went
to show that the dog had attacked the defendant. Vest took no part in the
trial and was not disposed to speak. The attorneys, however, urged him to
make a speech, else their client would not think he had earned his fee.
Being thus urged, he arose, scanned the face of each juryman for a
moment, and said:

‘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 that he has
reared with loving care may prove ungrateful. Those who are nearest and
dearest to us, those whom we trust with our happiness and our good
name may become traitors to their faith. The money that a man has, he
may lose. It flies away from him, perhaps, when he needs it most. A
man's reputation may be sacrificed in the 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 clouds upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish
friend that many can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts
him, the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous, is his dog. A
man's dog stands by him in prosperity and poverty, in health and
sickness. He will sleep on the cold ground, where the wintry winds blow
and the snow drives fiercely, if only he may 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 the riches take wings and reputation
falls to pieces, he is constant in his love as the sun in its journey through
the heavens.

‘If fortune drives the master forth an outcast in the world, friendless and
homeless, the faithful dog asks no higher privilege than that of
accompanying him, to guard against danger, to fight against his enemies,
and when the last scene of all comes, and death takes the master in its
embrace, and his body is laid away in the cold ground, no matter if all
other friends pursue their way, there by the graveside will the noble dog
be found, his head between his paws, his eyes sad, but open in alert
watchfulness, faithful and true even in death.’

“Senator Vest sat down. He had spoken in a low voice, without any
gesture. He made no reference to the evidence of the merits of the case.
When he finished, judge and jury were wiping their eyes. The jury returned
a verdict in favor of the plaintiff for $500. He had sued for $200.”

· from “Sergeant's Dog Book” by D.E. Buckingham, V.M.D. 1935