In 1925, Sam VanArsdale, proprietor of the Ruff Hotel in Marshall, Missouri, purchased an English setter puppy born of pureblood champion field stock in Louisiana.  The puppy was considered the least promising of the litter and was sold at a throwaway price.  The dog was nothing special to look at as he had unusually big paws and an ungainly appearance.  Sam decided to call him Jim.

 Jim grew to be a fine companion for Sam.  The dog was smart and good-natured, and Sam was pleased with his "bargain."

One day, when Jim was three years old, he and Sam were walking through the woods.  The weather was hot, and Sam said to Jim, "C'mon boy, let's go and rest a little under a hickory tree."

There were many types of trees in the woods, but Jim ran straight over to a hickory tree.  Sam was a bit surprised.  No doubt it was just a coincidence.  On a whim, Sam said to Jim, "Show me a black oak tree."  When Jim ran to the nearest black oak and put his right paw on the tree, Sam was amazed.  This couldn't possibly be true.

"Show me a walnut tree," he said, and Jim ran unerringly to the nearest walnut and put his paw on it.  Sam continued with everything he could think of - a stump, hazel bushes, a cedar tree, even a tin can.  Jim correctly identified them all.  Sam could hardly believe the evidence of his own eyes.  How could a dog do such things?

Sam went home and told his wife what had happened.

She said flatly, "Sam VanArsdale, you can tell me, but don't go telling anyone else."

Sam persuaded his wife to accompany them back to the woods, where Jim put on a flawless repeat performance.  She shook her head in amazement - Sam's crazy story was true!

Over the next few days, Sam couldn't help telling his friends around town what his smart dog could do.  They smiled at him indulgently and moved off pretty fast.

One man did listen, although of course he was skeptical.  Sam, noticing that the man had parked his car on the street a few yards away, told Jim to show the man which car was his.  Jim went straight to the car and put his front paw on it.

Then another man gave Sam the license plate number of his car.  Sam wrote it down on a piece of paper and put the paper on the sidewalk.  He told Jim to identify the car.  Without hesitation, Jim walked to the car in question.

After incidents like these, Jim's reputation spread like wildfire around the small town.  Soon he was demonstrating his powers in the Ruff Hotel for amazed crowds of up to a hundred people at a time.  There seemed to be no limit to what Jim could do.  When people were in the lobby, he could determine what room numbers they occupied in the hotel.  He could identify people according to the clothes they wore, the color of their hair - in spite of the fact that dogs are thought to be color-blind - their profession, and, in the case of the military, their rank.

In addition, he could identify objects not just by name but by function.  For example, at a command such as, "If we wanted to hear Amos and Andy, where would we go?"  Jim would go to the radio.

Perhaps, the skeptics said, Sam was secretly signaling to Jim.  Although none of Sam's friends and associates questioned his integrity, knowing him to be a plain-speaking man who wouldn't dream of deceiving others, one woman decided to test this theory.  She had the clever idea to write an instruction for Jim in shorthand, which Sam did not understand.  When Sam showed Jim the paper on which the instruction was written, and told him to do whatever it said, Jim went over to a certain man.  The woman shouted, "He's doing it!"  Then she explained that the instruction was, "Show us the man with rolled socks."

One year, at the State Fair in Sedalia, the editor of the Joplin Globe asked for a demonstration.  Since they were near the bandstand where the musicians were putting away their instruments, Sam said, "Jim, show us who plays the tuba."  Jim went to the tuba player and put his paw on him.  The citizens of the "Show-Me State" had to admit Jim had abilities far beyond the normal.

By this time Jim's reputation had spread far beyond the small town of Marshall.  Newspapers and magazines from all over the country sent reporters to cover the story.  They went away, like everyone else, amazed.  Jim became known as the Wonder Dog.

Jim's feats aroused scientific and medical curiosity.  He was examined by veterinarians at Missouri State University, who said that there was nothing unusual about Jim - physically, he was just like any other dog.  They could offer no explanation for his uncanny talent.

Later that same day, Jim gave an outdoor demonstration at the university, attended by students and professors.  Various professors gave him instructions in different languages.

In Italian, "Show me an elm tree."

In French, "Point out this license number."

In German, "Show a girl dressed in blue."

In Spanish, "Find a man wearing a mustache."

Not once did Jim err.

Sam watched the demonstration with quiet satisfaction.  His bargain pup had become his dearest treasure, an extraordinary dog whom he loved and was proud of.  But he had no explanation of how Jim could do all these things.  When a friend at the demonstration asked him about it, he said, "All I know is that he has the power of doing whatever I ask him to do, and there seems to be no limit to his knowledge or ability."

One man who was deeply impressed by Jim's ability was Jack L. Jolly, a Missouri state representative, who invited Sam and Jim to Jefferson City for a joint session with the legislature.  The politicians tried to trip Jim up.  They gave him an instruction in Morse code.  But Jim had no problem indicating the person they were calling for.  Anyone who harbored any lingering doubts that Jim was simply reading his master's mind, or responding to secret signals, had to put them aside, because Sam knew Morse code no better than he knew shorthand.  Sam was as astonished as everyone else by Jim's supernormal gift.

One day, some friends persuaded Sam to test Jim further.  Could he possibly predict the future?  Sam took an interest in the Kentucky Derby, so that year he wrote down the names of the horses on pieces of paper that he then laid on the floor.  He asked Jim to select the horse that would win.  Jim put his paw on one of the slips of paper, which was then put in a locked safe until after the race.  It turned out that Jim had picked the winner.  He repeated his success the following year, and so on for seven successive years.

Sam was not a gambling man and never attempted to profit from Jim's abilities to foretell the future.  He received many letters and telegrams requesting Jim's predictions of winning horses.  Some people offered to split the profits with Sam.  But Sam never wavered.  Nor was he interested in a lucrative offer from Paramount for Jim to work in movies for a year.  Like the modest Midwesterner he was, Sam said he didn't really need the money and didn't want to commercialize Jim.

As time passed, the bond between Sam and Jim grew.  Sam's love for Jim was that of a man for his greatest friend.  And the dog's ability to do anything Sam asked was just one facet of Jim's deep devotion towards Sam.  So when Jim died at the age of twelve in 1937, Sam was devastated.  And indeed, the whole town of Marshall was stunned by the loss.  Jim was buried in the Ridge Park Cemetery, where his small white headstone reads: Jim the Wonder Dog.

Many people visit Jim's gravesite every year, leaving flowers and coins in remembrance of the Wonder Dog whose mysterious powers won him lasting fame and honor and love.

[Editors' Note: The events in this story have been confirmed by eyewitnesses and documented in numerous newspapers, magazines and other publications.  The editors have checked the author's sources and are confident that they are reliable.]
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Reprinted by permission of Bryan Aubrey (c) 1999 from Chicken Soup for the Cat & Dog Lover's Soul by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen, Marty Becker, D.V.M. and Carol Kline.  In order to protect the rights of the copyright holder, no portion

of this publication may be reproduced without prior written consent.  All rights reserved.