Dear Ann Landers,
Who needs proof? A letter about Kelly, a dog who wouldn't eat meat on Friday, unloosed a torrent of testimonials which strongly suggest that our furred and feathered friends are at least as smart as people-if not smarter. Here are some samples from my mail: From Highland Park: If you think Kelly's dog is unusual, what would you say about our English setter, Leviticus? We got Lev when he was four months old-a gift from friends who are deeply religious. These friends adhere to the dietary laws of their faith. Leviticus not only refuses to eat meat which is not kosher but the meat must be served to him on a Yiddish newspaper. We have tried the Chicago Sun-Times and the Daily News, but Lev cannot be fooled.-Right Hand Up

Dear Right Hand Up,
I have no comment whatever to make on Leviticus. Particularly since Mrs. Helen Palmer, the women's editor of the Toronto Star, sent me a clipping from that paper describing a kosher cat, owned by Rabbi Louis Farrell. The mixing of meat and milk is forbidden by Ortho-dox Jewish law. Rabbi Farrell's cat must have known this because he refused to drink milk when meat was served. Fre-quently the kosher cat demonstrated his dedication to this dietary law for guests-to their utter amazement. From Miami: I don't want to take anything away from Kelly's dog, but did you know there was a chimpanzee down in Daytona Beach who used to play gin rummy? His master began by letting the chimp play a few hands for kicks. When that chimp blitzed one of the best card players in Florida in three hands, the boys got mad and wouldn't let the monkey sit in the game. From Seattle: Our Weimaraner, Ellsworth, loves classical music. He sits meditatively when Ormandy or Bernstein re-cordings are on the hi-fi. When the kids put on rock 'n' roll, Ellsworth leaves the room. Several months ago our daughter bought some Beatles records. Ellsworth whined and moaned and finally put his paw on the knob and turned the machine off. From Columbus, Ohio: Our dog Strib was only a mutt, but he was an awfully smart mutt. When I was four years old, Mom announced to the family that we were going to have a new baby in the house. The very next morning Strib went out for his morning walk and returned carrying a baby shoe in his mouth. He proudly laid it at Mother's feet. For the next sev-eral months he kept bringing home baby shoes-about one every two weeks. This went on until the new baby came. Then he stopped. From Kansas City: Our oldest daughter went with a guy I never could warm up to. When he came to call, our beagle had to be put in the back hall. Sparky hated that fellow and he sure did show it. She married the guy and he turned out to be a rat. I told my two younger daughters I didn't want any fellows coming to the house a second time if Sparky didn't like 'em. This may sound nutty, but both girls used Sparky as a guide, and today they are married to two fine young men and are very happy. From California: Our myna bird, Socrates, had a fairly large vocabulary and did a good bit of talking. We always thought myna birds were strictly imitators. Now I'm not sure. Three days before the California election for governor, I was having an argument with a friend. I said to him, "I'll bet you twenty dollars Pierre Salinger will win!" Socrates poked his head through the cage and shrieked, "No, no, Murphy will win!" Murphy did win. How do you like them apples?-Santa Barbara Dear Santa: I bet on Salinger, so you know how I liked them apples!