"A scout is kind, he is a friend to animals. He will not kill or hurt any living creature needlessly but will try to save and protect all harmless life."
It goes without saying that dangerous or noxious animals should be killed. In fact, an important part of the work of the knights of old was to hunt out the wild animals that infested the woods and killded the flocks of the farmers. Just so it is a useful thing a the present day to kill foxes and hawks who play havoc in chicken yards, and the crows and other birds who eat the grain after it is sown and so injure the crops.
A still more useful thing is to kill rats which carry the poison of the bubonic plague, and all the host of insects, like mosquitoes and flies, that spread disease by infection.
The reason it is right to kill such animals, of course, is that they are destructive, and by killing them we are really protecting far more life, and life of a higher order, than we destroy. The motive of the killing is really constructive or upbuilding, which we described as the characteristic respect.
When, however, it comes to shooting songbirds, or harmless squirrels and chipmunks, as many boys are naturally inclined to do, the killing comes from a destructive and savage instinct which has nothing good about it.
All sane people enjoy the music of our thrushes, robins, bluebirds, chickadees, and even woodpeckers, and the man who kills one of these harmless singers not only destroys their pleasure in life but also robs many human beings of the pleasure of listening to them. Moreover, there is something sacred about any beautiful sight or sound which is purely natural as God made it, and he who crudely destroys the exquisite beauty of natural things acts not only from savagery but from stupidity as well. A scout is supposed to have trained his intelligence by observation so that he can appreciate the difference between the coarser and the finer things of nature, and can understand the law which calls upon him not to kill or to give pain to any living creature needlessly, but ot save and protect all harmless life.
When we come to the domestic animals, our relation to them is more like our relation to human beings and especially to children. If we make respect the groundwork of our conduct toward all creatures, including animals, we can never go far wrong. Horses and dogs are perhaps the most companionable animals in our part of the world, an dit would be making a great mistake to imagine that they do not know the difference between respect and careless contempt. Dogs are perhaps especially sensitive to the states of mind of the people with whom they are associated, and there are a few things that it may be well to point out to those who have dogs of their own or see much of the dogs of other people. We must remember especially to do them justice since their minds are very different from ours, -- far more different than the minds of even very little children; and so, while we are able to understand pretty well what they are thinking about and what they dislike, it is impossible for them to understand to anything like the same degree what we are thinking about or what interests us. Therefore, if we want true companionship with dogs, we must go more than half way and join them in things they like to do whenever it is possible.
One of the greatest opportunities for such companionship is in shooting, because the dogs, from their natural instinct, enjoy the hunting of game as much as men do.
Terriers and other dogs, in whom the hunting instinct is somewhat different quality, always love to take a walk with their master; and their master should remember this and give them an opportunity of enjoying a walk, especially in the country, whenever it is possible. Unlike men, dogs cannot reflect upon their own actions or their tastes, and their power of expressing pleasure and grief is comparatively limited; but it is certain that unless a dog has been spoiled by bad treatment for a number of years, the thing that satisfies him most deeply is the attention and care of a good master. It is, therefore, a matter of kindness to dogs, as well as of courtesy to owners of dogs never to treat their dogs as if they were one's own, either by offering them food or by doing anything else which could possibly draw a dog away from faithfulness to his own master.
Of course, being animals, one of their chief interests in life is their food, and so we should treat their food as a matter of importance, giving them the right kind, and giving it to them ourselves regularly every day. It is better never to allow any one else to feed your dog regularly, and it is well to stay with him quietly until he has finished his meal, -- partly to protect him against disturbance while eating, and partly against disturbance while eating, and partly to associate one's self with his sense of comfort and satisfaction. I knew a dog once who, as soon as he had finished his dinner, would come up to his master and wag his tail for "thank you"; then he would go back to the empty dish as if he wanted to enjoy his dinner all over again.
It is most important that drinking water should always be kept within reach of dogs both by day and night.
Dogs have their temptations, just as people do, and one of them is to eat the contents of garbage pails and swill-barrels. This habit, if indulged, ruins their normal appetite and makes them unhealthy. They should be carefully protected against this practice by having their food given to them at stated times, including an occasional bone, and then by being sharply whipped on the spot when caught in the act of theft. It is no kindness to dogs to let them go unpunished when they have done wrong; and it may seem strange to some people to hear that they have a deeper respect for a master who cares enough to protect them from wrong-doing, even though it hurts.
People who know more about horses and cats than I do could give similar examples to show the kind of treatment which wins the respect of these animals and makes their lives happy. The wretched cats that are abandoned in cities when their owners leave for the summer are a sad example of unkindness and stupidity toward animals.
We must remember that domestic animals are given to us as helpers and companions, that they are far more dependent upon us than we are upon them, and that it is un-knightly and un-scoutlike to neglect or to forsake them.
A man or boy who possesses an animal of his own should have a friendly feeling toward the pets of other men. If he only cares for his own horse or dog, it goes far to prove that his affection is narrow and selfish and not likely to be lasting. Certain people have the faculty for making animals trust them more than other people, and some men are able to feed sparrows and other birds out of their hands by offering them food.
It is difficult to say just what it is that gives this impression of trustworthiness and kindness to their
little minds, but I think we shall all agree that their confidence is probably well placed and not likely
to be mistaken.