Be very suspicious of any man who advertises that he has dogs for sale that can win in fast company for fifty or a hundred dollars, or A 1 bitches in whelp to noted dogs for the same price.  Any man who possesses these kinds of dogs does not have to advertise their sale.  There are plenty of people here in Boston only too glad to buy this kind of stock at three or four times this price.

I attended the last show in Boston with a number of orders in my pocket, but failed to discover any dogs I picked out possessing the quality described at anything less than a good stiff price, for Boston terriers with the “hall mark” of quality have been, are, and, I believe, always will be, as staple in value as diamonds.

The number of letters we have received from all over the country, particularly from the West, complaining of the skin games played upon them by fake kennels and dealers, would make an angel weep, and make one almost regret that one ever knew a Boston.  If the same ingenuity, skill and patience employed in the getting up of these fake advertisements had been devoted to the breeding of the dog, this class of advertising gentry (?) would have produced something fit to sell.  It is stated on the best of authority that in some cases nothing was shipped for money received.

In spite of this vast number of unscrupulous breeders and dealers scattered abroad, I think the chances for reliable kennels was never so good as now in the history of the breed.  Cream will always rise, and right dealing, whether in dogs or diamonds, will ever meet with their just returns.  Remember that one never forgets being “taken in” in a horse trade, and when, instead of a horse a dog is involved, I think one never forgives as well.  To that number of persons who, in their daily walks of life are fairly honest, but who, when it comes to a trade in dogs are apt to lose that fine sense of justice that should characterize all transactions, we would say with Shakespeare:  “To thine own self be true.  Thou canst not then be false to any man.”  Yea, we would repeat the command of a greater than Shakespeare, to whom, I trust, we all pay reverence, when He lays down for us all the Golden Rule:  “Whatsoever ye would that men would do to you, do ye even so to them.”

To go back to the responsible buyer who is in the market for a good dog, we say:  Send your orders to responsible men, with said dogs to sell, stating exactly what you want, and the price you desire to pay, agreeing to send a check just as soon as dogs prove satisfactory, assuming, of course, express charges.  Reputable dealers and breeders are looking for just such customers.

To all breeders and dealers who have not an established reputation, would say:  Advertise accurately what you have for sale in first class reliable papers and magazines.  In regard to prices, the following scale, adopted by us many years ago, and which we have never seen since any reason to change, is practically as follows: