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Show The Swiss huntsman in the Wg trained dog act at tho Empress today. Can you imagine fifty French poodles, fox terriers. Spitz poodlotj, w;utcr spaniels. span-iels. Airedales, shepherds, and about nine other kinds of dogs and doggies locked tip in one room, each bcgglnsr in his own dog dialect, at 10 o'clock every morning, for his breakfast? If yon can draw this mental jrfcturei you can imagine what Iho animal room ot tho Empress theater looks like at 10 o'clock overy morning when tho three attendants for Merian'3 dogs, now at that houso. show up with the big kottles of cooked rice and meat which forms the first meal of the day for the two score rind moru dog which have c.fptiired all hearts at the Empress. ."over before haa such a trained-dog act been scon in Salt Lake. The dogs si ro ji from 2Yv. Merlan'a dog farm in Switzerland and it is the bigsest act of its kind in vaudeville. The fifty dogs propent an entire sketch entitled "The Spoiled Honeymoon." and hero's a little romance in dog llfo tliat has many a counterpart among the real players on the stage. Flock, tho Spitz poodle, who plays tho "bride in the sketch and who Is really the stav of tho cast, ia not a pedigreed or blooded dog at all. Instead, Mr. lUerlan picked her up out of the gut-tor gut-tor in a little Swiss village when she was Just n scrubby little pup. So apt was Flock in learning the tricks taught her that .she was finalry given the most difficult diffi-cult role In. the dog sketch. The dogs at tho Empress this week could not be purchased from Mr. Jlerian for $10,000. So perfectly have they been trained to present an entire sketch, all of the dogs appearing In costume, that no person or attendant is seen on the stage during' the entire act. It takcG throe men and a woman two hours and a half every day to dress tho dogs for their art. Every dog wears llttlo hardwood hard-wood shoes and. according to their trainer. train-er. th wearing of these shoes waa tho most difficult trick to teach tlio little fellows. fel-lows. Every dog walks upright on his hind legs throughout the tikutch. There is jroing to be a bir special matinee mati-nee at tlio Empress this afternoon for all of the youngsters in town, and the management man-agement has given the trained doga the most prominent place on the bill. |