90 DISEASES 



seldom be seen in the stools it may be advisable to describe their appear- 

 ance on post-mortem examination of their host. 



Dogs dying from this disease are generally emaciated, and when the 

 patient has lingered long covered with bedsores. The gums are pale, often 

 spongy and ulcerated, the teeth covered with a dark green deposit, with a 

 pronounced odor. On opening the abdomen the mesenteric glands are 

 generally found to be enlarged and dark in color, due <to irritation set up 

 by the poisonous products of the parasites. The outer surface of the stom- 

 ach and bowels, as a rule, show little or no changes; in aggravated cases 

 there may be a few dark red or purple spots. 



To find the parasites the stomach and bowels should be taken out and 

 slit up. The parasite does not often occur in the stomach, but may be 

 found firmly attached to the wall in any part of the small intestines. The 

 mucous membrane of the intestines should be examined in a good light, 

 inch by inch, with a magnifying glass, and if necessary washed with run- 

 ning water to clear away mucus, partly digested food, etc. 



The parasite can be recognized curled up in a spiral or lying straight in 

 groups of four or five to a dozen. They may be evenly distributed through- 

 out the small intestine. If the examination be made shortly after death, 

 each parasite is found firmly attached in the center of a red, inflamed spot; 

 wherever the contents of the bowels are cherry colored from blood staining 

 the parasites can be found most numerously. The whole of the small 

 intestine is, as a rule, inflamed and thickened. In many cases round worms 

 and tapeworms are also present, especially in young dogs. 



Symptoms and Diagnosis of the Disease. 



Hookworm disease has been looked on as essentially a disease of sport- 

 ing dogs, especially hounds. As a matter of fact, all breeds are equally sus- 

 ceptible, and it is simply due to the fact that sporting dogs are generally 

 raised and kept where the conditions favor the parasites, that it has been 

 so considered. Dogs at all ages are liable to become infected, but grow- 

 ing puppies from a few weeks to a year old are more susceptible to the 

 effects of the worms. 



Symptoms are unfortunately indefinite in the majority of cases. The 

 dog may show signs of worms and with treatment pass round worms and 

 tapeworms, but fails to pick up and develop as expected. Young puppies 

 become anemic, with pallid gums, distended abdomen, injected eyes and 

 a hot, dry nose. The usual treatment with vermifuges and purgatives 

 produces a persistent diarrhea, the worm toxins produce convulsions, coma 

 and death in a very few days. Older dogs, from six to twelve months old, 

 pass through these stages more slowly. 



The appetite is capricious or voracious, the gums become spongy and 

 bleed easily to the touch, development of teeth is arrested — in several 

 cases I have observed crumbling of the enamel due to faulty assimilation 

 of the necessary constituents and to the presence of a foul-smelling green 

 deposit. Chorea may develop suddenly and progresses in violence until 

 death occurs. In the course of time diarrhea sets in, which increases in 

 severity until blood-stained or tarry-looking movements occur several times 



