Pete, suffering from a severe attack of the hiccoughs after a brisk run along Fourteenth Avenue, trotted into the Loose-Wiles Biscuit plant.
Keeping his eyes glued on Harry Larcenay(sic), Pete "burped" at 15 second intervals and gave numerous other signs of being in terrific agony. Mr. Larcenay looked down on Pete, raised an index finger and commanded:
"Stop it!"
And Pete did.
Pete is the famous dog movie star that has romped and frolicked in "Our Gang" comedies for nearly ten years.
Has Birth Mark
Unheralded and playing to a comparatively meager audience, Pete came to Mount Vernon and, after a short half hour visit, convinced a few skeptics that the brown ring circling his left eye is an honest-to-goodness birth mark and not paint or dye.
Pete and his owner, Mr. Larcenay, were guests at the plant and it was for the company's salesmen and their children that Pete went through his bag of tricks.
Having disposed of the hiccoughs, Pete, 60 pounds of English bull and bull terrier, gave his undivided attention to his master.
To Pete, every flick of a finger or word from Mr. Larcenay means something. Temperamental to a degree, but still docile, the movie star gives a flawless performance.
Mr. Larcenay crossed his arms. Pete flopped to the floor, crossed his paws and dropped his head between them. Mr. Larcenay raised his right hand and Pete sat back on his haunches.
He Yawns Also
Two raised fingers brought two barks, and as the echo resounded through the room, Mr. Larcenay opened his mouth. Pete promptly went into a yawn that ended only when his master shut his mouth.
Mr. Larcenay kept his mouth half open and the dog responded with a continuous howl.
There was a time when Pete was controlled entirely by spoken commands, but like other movieland stars, he had to learn a new system of acting when the talkies came.
His master couldn't talk from the sidelines because the sensitive microphones picked up everything. So Pete and Mr. Larcenay went into a huddle and emerged with a complete set of signals.
Imitates Child
The star also demonstrated that he could impromptu stunts shown by children. At the request of Mr. Larcenay, one of the girls climbed on a chair, leaned forward, dropped a glove, picked it up and then placed it in a box. Pete watched her and as soon as the child walked from the chair, he did everything she had done.
After the demonstration, the dozen or so spectators asked Mr. Larcenay questions which brought the following information about Pete: He is nearly ten years old, has his teeth brushed twice a day, pays income tax (through his master) despite the fact that he is the father of 47 puppies, and is insured for $25,000."
Sidenote: This new version of Pete, of course, was still being passed off by Lucenay as the original dog. But the original dog's birthdate kept creeping forward as the years passed. If Pete was "nearly ten years old," then he would have been born in 1925, which was at least three years later than when the original dog was actually born.