"He was an aristocratic pug, accustomed to select society and would not notice them."

I don’t know if dog catchers in 1890s New York were paid for each mutt that they brought back to the pound, but something strange was going on. During that decade, dog catchers had a habit of luring canines off their owners’ properties so that they could be collared and taken into custody. This strategy backfired sometimes, as can be gleaned from the following July 16, 1894 article in the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. An excerpt:

“The dog catchers paid another visit to the Twenty-ninth Ward this morning and again got into trouble. The new wards are a harvest for those officers and no matter how they are treated, they reappear smiling. About 4:50 this morning William Robertson, a well known and wealthy resident of Clarkson Street, let his pet pug out in the yard. The pug celebrated his release with a sharp yelp. The dog catchers were in the neighborhood, heard the bark and drove up to the Robertson residence. Seven men jumped from the wagon. They tried to coax the dog outside the yard, but he was an aristocratic pug, accustomed to select society and would not notice them. One catcher then, braver than the others, opened the gate and threw in some meat. The dog did not pay attention to that either. The man then went in the yard, chased the animal and, after some time, caught him on the stoop surrounding the house. The dog squealed and Mrs. Robertson ran out of the house to see what was the matter. She grasped the situation at a glance and told the man to drop the dog. He answered in an insulting manner and Mrs. Robertson called her husband, who also ordered the man to drop the dog. The catcher was impudent to Robertson also and the latter drew a revolver from his pocket and shouted, ‘Drop that dog or I will drop you.’

One of the men in the wagon cried out, ‘Drop it, Bill. He means business.’ The man dropped the dog and ran. His seven companions drove on with thirty-five captive dogs in their wagon. This morning Mr. Robertson appeared before Justice Steers and asked for a warrant for the arrest of the man, whose name he did not know. The justice told him first to complain to the mayor and then he would grant the warrant. Mr. Robertson left the court house for the city hall.

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Pluto encounters a dog catcher, 1932: