He was a little man with a squint, and he declared that he had nothing but the best-bred dogs with the longest pedigrees.
"But we don't want anything so swagger as that," said Mr.Lenox.
"We want a watchdog to be kept on a chain, but friendly enough with his own people.

If you keep only pedigree dogs, we may as well get on to our next address." Mr.Amos stepped between Mr.Lenox and the door.

"It's most extraordinary odd," he said, "for, although I make it almost a religion never to have any but pedigree dogs, it happens that just at this very moment I have got, for the first time in my whole career, an inferior animal.

It's not mine.

Oh, no; I'm only taking care of it for a friend.
But it's a retriever all right, and a good one, mark you, though not a pedigree dog.