Jim The Wonder Dog

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106 – February, 2024

By Caroline Coile

Every year thousands of dog show exhibitors head East on 1-70 toward St. Louis and Purina farms. On their way, on I-70, about an hour-and-a-half east of Kansas City, Missouri, they pass the exit for the town of Marshall, population 13,065. Marshall is the Saline county seat, but that’s not what its famous for–Marshall was the site of the 1937 National Corn Shucking contest, which drew a record 120,000 attendance. But that’s not what it’s famous for either. Marshall has all the things you expect to see in small town America: an old county courthouse, veterans’ memorial, antique shops and a big statue of a dog. That’s what makes Marshall famous.

Marshall’s town slogan gives you another hint there’s something different–doggy even–about Marshall: “Come. Sit. Stay…” it says, and “Smart dog, nice folks…”

It turns out the dog statue is of the smart dog, Jim, and nice folks made the Jim the Wonder Dog Memorial Garden, near the Jim the Wonder Dog Museum. And Jim the Wonder Dog is, well, either the smartest dog that ever lived or the most elaborate animal hoax ever perpetrated by an entire town. I’m not the sort to believe the former, yet the latter seems equally difficult to swallow.

Here’s the story:

 “The Ugliest Dog I Ever Saw” Becomes “The Hunting Dog of the Century”

Click here to read the complete article
106 – February, 2024

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=280459

Posted by AnthonyA on Feb 14 2024. Filed under Current Articles, Featured. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.