News of the Weird
Jim The Wonderdog… Smarter Than Lassie !
By Bob Hudson
Mar 2, 2010 - 9:47:44 AM

Look in those eyes. Now, a lot of dogs are smarter than their owners, but from all accounts there was an intelligence there that captured the nation’s attention in the roaring 20s, when there was plenty of competition. And it all happened right here in the state of Missouri.

Jim the Wonder Dog was a purebred Llewellyn setter from Louisiana, born in March of 1925, who was purchased by hotel manager and hunter Samuel VanArsdale, who needed a good hunting dog. When taken to the field that fall for the first time, he immediately went to a covey of quail, came up on perfect point, held steady until the quail was shot, and immediately brought the bird to VanArsdale on the order to "fetch". He proved to be a marvelous hunting dog, knowing where there were quail, and refusing to hunt where there were none.

Outdoor Life Magazine termed him "The Hunting Dog of the Country" but Jim was much more than that. VanArsdale found that his dog could understand what he was saying and carry out his commands. The first time was on a hot day when VanArsdale said, "Let's go over and rest a bit under that Hickory tree". Although in a woods of numerous kinds of trees, Jim padded over to the Hickory. Surprised by this, he asked Jim to go to a Walnut, then a Cedar, a stump, and a tin can, which he did.  

This was just the start of the amazing things the dog did on command. Jim could allegedly carry out instructions given in any foreign language, in shorthand, or even in Morse Code. He could identify a car by owner, color, make, or license plate, identify various trees and shrubs, identify the name of a business, identify the job or home of a stranger, and could pick the gender of unborn infants. He was also able to pick the winner of the 1936 World Series and the winners of not one but 7 Kentucky Derbies. Jim also performed at the Missouri State Fair in Sedalia, and before the Missouri Legislature in Jefferson City. Newspaper and magazine writers picked up on this and Jim's fame spread across the United States and elsewhere, and he was eventually even featured in Robert Ripley's Believe It or Not.  Mr. VanArsdale arranged for a demonstration at the University of Missouri with Dr. Durant, the University’s head veterinarian, who could find nothing physically different from any other dog. He was also tested by a group of college students and passed each command with flying colors.

Jim died on March of 1937 and is buried in Marshall's Ridge Park Cemetery, probably the only animal interred in a people’s cemetery. Caretakers say his is the most visited grave there and is seldom without flowers on it. The town of Marshall also remembers this extraordinary canine. The “Jim The Wonder Dog Garden” is on the corner of the town square, in a spot once occupied by the Ruff Hotel where Jim lived with his owner, hotel manager Sam VanArsdale.