Could not a man with a familiar dog, perhaps a hunting animal, the property of a rival, cause it to rise against a particular person at a signal? I suspect the &#x27;friend&#x27; of manufacturing the entire event, being the murderer himself. We have only his word on the history of the dog. He may have assumed its ownership upon the killing of the real owner; he was aware of the curious tradition of combat; he contrived a cute storey of animal loyalty to cover his vile act and misdirect attention onto another for the crime.