Mexborough and Swinton Times September 3, 1937
Tames Savage Dogs
Wombwell Man Who “Has A Way With ‘Em”
Test Suggested
You have all heard the story of the king who “never smiled again.” Here is the story of a dog that never barked again. It was in the first place a noisy dog and a dangerous one too. It lost its bark when it had been subdued by a master mind, a superior will. There are just a few people in the world that have uncanny power over savage dogs and other intractable animals. Mr Thomas Jackson, an unemployed miner, of “Overdale,” Barnsley Road, The Ash, Wombwell, is one of them.
Small but Courageous
Meet Mr Jackson. He is a slight man of middle age, rather shy and not at all like a lion tamer. 10 stones “went through” and given the full benefit of the scales, you would never mistake him for Wallace Beery or Johnny Weismuller. Yet, where savage animals are concerned he is absolutely fearless. He will face anything in the savage dog line for a wager – the bigger the better. Have you a dog which is absolutely out of control and badly needs taming? Mr Jackson is your man
“Lead me to it.” He will say smilingly, if you tell him where there is a dog, which has scared his master and wants bringing to his “pobs.” He will guarantee to fetch any ferocious dog out of the kennel and take a mutton chop off it! Most of the dogs he tackles suddenly remember that they have another engagement. Some of them have been such a hurry to get away from him that they have nearly knocked a hole in the back of the kennel.
How does he do it? – Just willpower. That’s what he tells you, at any rate. But he has a way with dogs. Call it a gift if you like. He discovered it when he was about 20.
What Big Teeth He Had Got!
Let tell you about some of the dogs Mr Jackson has tamed. This was at Hemingfield. Mr Jackson was going about his business and two men he knew stepped off the pavement to get out of the way of a dog. Asked what was the matter, they replied warily, “Don’t go near that dog, it savage.” The animal was a vicious looking across bread weighing about two stones.
Mr Jackson, went up the dog and “set” it. After a brief staring match the dog wilted, put its tail between it’s legs and ran home. The story travelled to a public house in the village. The company would not believe it. At Mr Jackson requested the dog was brought into the tap room. He saw Mr Jackson dropped his ears and backed away. Mr Jackson lifted up his leg to make it hurdle. “Come here,” he shouted. The dog leapt the hurdle and is still running for anything he knows. It is said that the dog never barked again.
The Bold Bad Bedlington
Episode number two concerns a Bedlington terrier which had “gone wrong” in the sense that everybody was scared of it. Even the owner was afraid to go near it. Mr Jackson offered to fetch it out of the house and told the owner to go and provoke it if he liked. The man’s wife was reluctant to let Mr Jackson try the experiment. “Open the door,” he replied, “I won’t hurt it.” Mr Jackson never touched the dog but commanded it to “Come here!” The dog trembled and ran way into the cupboard. To carry the experiment a little further the dog was given a bone. Mr Jackson, took the bone off it. And so, of course, the poor dog have none. A little shamefaced the owner remarked, “I have a good mind to shoot it now.” “What for?” Asked Mr Jackson. “The dog all right; it only wanted mastering.”
Many so-called savage dogs are not savage at all. Like nettles, they only want grasping firmly. On one occasion Mr Jackson was waiting his turn in a fish shop. Somebody remarked, “Mind that dog,” indicating a long-haired animal of doubtful extraction that at whose entry the company had parted. “What this thing?” Said Mr Jackson, picking up the dog with the skin of its back and given it a gentle shaking down and “set” it. When he shouted “Come here to!” the dog ran away like scalded cockerel. It would never again come within 20 yards of him!
Why a Dog Barks
Mr Jackson has his own theories regarding dogs. He believes that a dog barks because it is afraid. The less noise a dog makes and the more difficult it is to tackle. This applies to a Bulldog which, before making an attack simply blows out his cheeks and makes a hissing noise like an angry goose. He believes also that a dog can “smell” when a person is afraid. That is why very savage dogs will often let small children play with them. Infants have not the sense to know what fear is.
“Never go back,” advised Mr Jackson would give any person finding himself face-to-face with a savage dog. Also “Keep your eyes on it. Shout ‘come here’ as though you meant it and ten to one the dog will run away. Don’t whisper ‘come here’ and pat it like a pansy’.”
Speaking with considerable canine knowledge, Mr Jackson says that another infallibly safe way to approach a savage dog is to give it the back of your hand to smell it. He says judges at dog shows almost invariably approach strange dog in that way, and he has never known one to take a bite. If the dog is really dangerous a sharp rap on the nose will quieten it for at least 20 minutes!
Has he never been bitten by a dog? Oh yes, many a time, a dog bite is nothing. His claim is that he has never left to die without getting the better of it.
Killing by Kindness
As a great dog lover Mr Jackson says that most dogs are far too pampered to be happy. His contention is that a dog is a reclaimed wild animal and should live as near to the natural as possible; that after six months at dog needs only one good meal a day. Dogs they think should be “treated rough” within reason. It is only when a dog becomes “master” that it becomes savage. Dogs, he will tell you, can be killed by kindness, and many are.
Now brings your savage dog along. Mr Jackson makes on one condition that is that he is allowed to do what he likes with them. “I shall not stand there like souse and let the dog bite me,” he said. “The more savage the dog is the better I shall be pleased. Once I get my hand on him he’s mine.”
When a reporter asked Mr Jackson to what mysterious gift he attributed the strange power over savage dog, he smiled and remarked that it was not a gift at all – just willpower.
“Anybody can do it,” he said, “if they have only got the nerve. Nobody knows better than the dog when you’re afraid.” He believes that even wild animals can be subdued in the same way. Make it worthwhile for Mr Jackson to fetch a savage dog out of the kennel and the “Times” will stage a photograph of Mr Jackson putting the cap and bells on it.
Mr Jackson used to be a successful breeder of terriers. At a Wombwell show he took first prize for the best dog bred by the owner.