DISEASES 89 



vast area of ground by reason of rains washing or spreading the feces 

 containing thousands of eggs or embryos. 



The presence of hookworm is hard, almost impossible to detect with- 

 out the use of a microscope, unless the investment is quite heavy, then 

 rapid decline is noticed, such as general weakness or paralysis of the legs 

 or hindquarters. 



Symptoms. — Rough hair; sometimes a cough; as a rule the appetite 

 continues fairly good; languid; eyes become bloodless and listless; gums 

 pale, generally a creamy white. Excretion sometimes natural, again loose, 

 again of a dysentery nature, frequently a little drop of blood or two. This 

 may be examined by the average layman many times with the naked eye 

 and from the fact that he "doesn't see any" the conclusion is arrived at 

 that the dog is free of hookworm. Many times a dog in apparently the 

 best of health is infected with these terrible pests, his strong constitu- 

 tion overbalancing the damage that Mr. Worm is doing. This won't last 

 always and sooner or later he will pay the price. 



While a microscopical examination will reveal the eggs, it occasionally 

 happens that the worm itself is shown in feces under certain conditions. 

 Of course, a microscopic examination of the feces for the ova is the one, 

 absolute, certain way of determining a dog having them. 



This worm has been discovered in dogs, cats, foxes, badgers and 

 human beings, adults as well as children. This is mentioned with the 

 view to impress upon all interested the necessity of being alive to the 

 true situation, in order to prevent the scattering of the disease and to 

 show the chances of it being scattered. 



The worm attaches itself to the walls of the intestine and lives about 

 seven years. Remember, kennel owners, the worm does not incubate in 

 the intestine, but simply deposits its thousands of eggs there, which are 

 passed out on the ground in the excrement. I have dissected six-week- 

 old puppies and found many hookworms. This was, no doubt, brought 

 about by the dam lying out on the ground, her teats being attacked by 

 the freshly hatched worm, and brought to the suckling puppies. They were 

 treated in the ordinary way for worms, but this will not kill hookworms. 



If hookworm is found in one dog in the kennel, it is safe to assume 

 every dog in the kennel is infected, and should be treated. 



The following most valuable article is from The American Field, writ- 

 ten by Edward Martin, M. R. C. V. S.: 



"Until quite recently hookworm disease in the dog, also known as 

 pernicious anemia, uncinariasis, etc., has been but slightly recognized. This 

 is probably owing to neglect on the part of owners of dogs and veterin- 

 arians to make careful post-mortem examinations, and again, to the fact 

 that young dogs infected with hookworm generally carry round worms and 

 tapeworms,* and it is to the effects of these that death, when it occurs, is 

 attributed. 



The hookworm parasite, technically known as Uncinaria, inhabits^the 

 small intestines of dogs and foxes. When mature they attach themselves 

 to the mucous membrane and live entirely on the blood they extract. For 

 the purposes of this article they may be described as an extremely fine 

 round worm, white or grayish in color, from one-third to seven-eighths of 

 an inch in length, and about as thick as a fine sewing needle. As they can 



