In 1905, Sarsaparilla, the pampered pooch of the Tacoma police force, was famous for using his ugly mug to "sweat" a confession out of suspects. "Sas," as he was known, had been left at the police station when only a few days old and was raised on a bottle. The bull dog was soon known as the ugliest dog in Tacoma. When a suspect was brought into Police Chief Malony's office for questioning, "Sas" only had to be called from his blanket in the Chief's office, fix his slanted eyes on the criminal and the information began to flow. (TDN 10/28/1905, pg. 17)
W.L. Feeney, the manager of the RKO Pantages Theater, organized a very special "real old fashioned mutts" dog show on April 19, 1930 to welcome the Weaver Brothers comedy team to Tacoma. The winners of the show were: (l to r) Earl Robinson with his two month old puppy Spot, second place; Dickie Dale Simmons with first place winner Bud; and Harold Hilderman with his $1.00 cash prize winning pooch Jiggs. Four year old Dickie made sure that no one could run off with his prize winning pet; Bud was tied to his arms with a thick rope. The dog show was followed by a blackberry pie eating contest and a parade down Broadway. The Weaver Brothers, Charlie, Abner and Cicero, were most famous for introducing the musical handsaw to vaudeville as a musical instrument. They were appearing in Tacoma on a bill with the Richard Dix all talking comedy "Lovin' the Ladies." Seats were 25 cents before 1p.m. (Tacoma Sunday Ledger, 4/20/1930, pg. A-7)
Robinson, Earl; Simmons, Dickie Dale; Hilderman, Harold; Dogs; Dog shows--Tacoma--1930-1940;
