Earl Cheany, age 10, of Casper, Wyo., for his question:

WHAT IS A COACH DOG?

In the olden days, a special breed of dogs used to run along between the wheels of coaches or carriages, and were companions to the horses. The official name of these coach dogs, as they were then called, is the Dalmatian.

The coach dog or Dalmatian is a medium sized dog that looks like a pointer. It is usually white, covered with many black or liver colored  spots. The dogs are mascots in many fire stations houses these days. Dalmatian puppies are pure white when they are born. The spots appear after about three or four weeks.

Dalamtians or coach dogs make good watchdogs. They are alert, curious, clean and useful. They also can be taught to hunt.

The breed was named for Dalmatia, an area on the Adriatic Sea, but experts are not sure where the dogs were first raised.