We all know that dogs have special qualities which make them
unique among all creatures on this earth. Their devotion and loyalty to man,
have set them apart. One of the most enduring eulogies to this affect was
presented by a Sedalia, Mo. lawyer by name of George Graham Vest, who was later to become a US Senator.. His speech was in response to a lawsuit on behalf of "Old Drum", a foxhound who was viciously killed by a human
neighbor. His owner brought suit for damages.

    Senator Vest concluded his case with the following speech:

Gentlemen of the jury, the best friend a man has in the world
many turn against him and become his worst 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 the most. A
man's reputation may be sacrificed in a 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 cloud upon our heads. The one absolutely unselfish friend
that a man can have in this selfish world, the one that never deserts him
and the one that never proves ungrateful or treacherous is his dog.

Gentleman of the jury, a man's dog stands by him in prosperity and in
poverty, in health and in 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 encounters 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 riches take wings and
reputation falls to pieces, he is as 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 come, 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 his grave side will the noble dog be found. his head between his paws, his eyes sad but open in
alert watchfulness, faithful and true even to death.

Old Drum's master won his suit, amidst a courtroom filled with tears, and
Senator Vest's statement has been preserved as a classic statement as
presented above.