Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
Marshall Cohen—researcher and producer, CNN
Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
STRAY DOGS
STRAY DOGS. Stories of dogs roaming Dubuque neighborhoods were common during the early 1800s. In an effort to solve the problem, police were occasionally summoned to hunt the animals down. In July, 1876 such an episode resulted in the following story in the Dubuque Herald:
Yesterday morning the police, armed and
equipped themselves, according to law,
preparatory to a war on the canine portion.
Forty-eight shots were fired yesterday
morning resulted in killing twenty-eight
dogs and wounding several others. (1)
A repeat of the shooting was held on July 20th. (2) The shooting of dogs was continued in 1878 with the people living on the southern edge of town complaining not enough effort was being given to their part of the city. (3)
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Source:
1. "Shooting the Dogs," Dubuque Herald, July 18, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18760718&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
2. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, July 21, 1876, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18760721&printsec=frontpage&hl=en
3. "Caught on the Fly," Dubuque Herald, August 2, 1878, p. 4. Online: https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=uh8FjILnQOkC&dat=18780803&printsec=frontpage&hl=en