Attracts largest Crowd of the Season -- Huge Bull Attacks Inoffensive Pug and Nearly Kills It -- Separated Once by Attorney Nelson, Owner of Pug Slashes Bulldog With A Knife.
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Rockford - More excitement was shown at the corner of State and North Church Streets this noon than has been developed before along the street for many a day. A boy and a man were walking past the McNair drug store with a little dog, half pug and half dachshund, when a large white bulldog set upon the inoffensive canine and secured a strangle hold upon its throat. The screams of the little boy to whom the victim belonged attracted a large crowd and Attorney N.P. Nelson wrenched the larger dog loose. The owner of the pug, however, did not get his animal beyond reach and the bull was at him again in a second. The crowd hid the fight from view and the cries of the boy made it appear that a serious accident had happened.
The owner of the pug slashed at the bull with a knife and both dogs were finally parted bleeding profusely. The little dog had a badly chewed ear and an open gash on at the breast, but will probably not suffer serious consequences, while the assaulting animal got the worst of it after all. The sympathy of the crowd was entirely with the owners of the pug and they would have been better pleased to se the vicious animal killed outright. It is said that the white bull belongs to a man who has an office on West State Street over a store not far from where the fight occurred and that i is continually fighting with other dogs. That the animal is dangerous is the general opinion of those whose sympathies were aroused by the sorrow of the little boy over his pet.
Rockford Republic, Rockford, IL, August 29, 1908, p. 6
