beautiful joe

His first master killed his siblings when they were puppies, and neglected his mother till she became ill and died. When the master came to poke her body for signs of life the dog rushed to defend his mother -- and got his ears and tail chopped off with an axe for his pains.

But a kinder master saved him. His new family named him Beautiful Joe. A popular book was written about him, and a park and benevolent society exist in his name.

This is a true story, and you may visit the Beautiful Joe Heritage Society website here. It is based in Meaford, Ontario, as is the park, where he is buried.

You may also read Beautiful Joe for yourself online at Internet Archive.

The first notice that he took of me when I was a little puppy, just able to
stagger about, was to give me a kick that sent me into a corner of the
stable. He used to beat and starve my mother. I have seen him use
his heavy whip to punish her till her body was covered with blood. . .

It gets happier from there, eventually. Honest.