192 . " HYDROPHOBIA 



dog bite, would cultivate that healthful self-control, which was so happily 

 inoculated by Dr. James Gordon Spencer in the Watertown case, and Dr. 

 Exton in the Arlington case." 



Herewith is reproduced Hugh Dalziel's entire treatise on this subject. 

 He is a noted authority in England and the author of several books on 

 dogs and horses. You will see that he believes in hydrophobia, so you 

 have now both sides of the question to read, ponder over and digest so as 

 to get a full and complete idea of the matter in all its bearings; 



"Although the symptoms of this terrible disease have long been recog- 

 nized and clearly stated by scentfic men, there is still, unfortunately, great 

 ignorance regarding it evinced by the general public — an ignorance fraught 

 with much danger to man, and the cause of much cruelty and death, often 

 most brutally inflicted on hundreds of poor dogs, more innocent of mad- 

 ness than the frantic crowd who do their best to hunt the poor frightened, 

 nervous beast into that state. 



"I have found the prevailing idea of a mad dog to be that of an 

 animal with glaring, bloodshot eyes, covered with the froth of his excite- 

 ment, and rushing wildly hither and thither in search of man or beast 

 to bite; whilst a dog lost in a crowded town, and excitedly nervous finding 

 himself out of his knowledge, is often enough to raise the croy of 'a mad 

 dog,' and with many a fit is a sign positive, and the occurrence of epilepsy 

 has been the incitement to canine murder in numberless instances. . 



"It is quite true that the disease produces great nervous excitement, 

 and creates a spirit of unrest — it also, in the first stages of its existence, 

 increases the flow of saliva — but not the emission of froth from the mouth, 

 which is produced by the champing of the jaws in an epileptic fit; in rabies, 

 the discharge becomes thick and glutinous, and the sufferer may be seen 

 paw'ng at his mouth to clear it, as though choked with a bone. The dispo- 

 sition of the dog is often entirely changed, and one frolicsome and fond of 

 being caressed may become sullen and shy, retiring into some quiet lair, 

 generally selecting some dark corner, behind a large object. If out on the 

 march he will rather evade man than seek company; and although biting 

 furiously at all and everything that obstructs his passage, rarely going out 

 of his way to seek an enemy. He evinces a strong desire to tear and gnaw 

 everything he gets hold of; nothing comes amiss to him, and the dispo- 

 sition to bite is shown by his frequently snapping at imaginary objects 

 in the air. Contrary to the generally received -opinion, and condemnatory 

 of the name hydrophobia, erroneously given to this disease in the dog, the 

 poor sufferer laps water greedily as long as his power over the muscles is 

 retained, and #hen that is gone, plunges his head into the water to cool 

 his parched and burning mouth. In the latter stages, the dog may have 

 convulsions, but fits are not a premonitory, nor an early symptom, and their 

 presence, independent of more certain evidence of rabies, should never give 

 rise to fear. 



"I can not do more than to indicate the more prominent and well- 

 known certain symptoms, and those who wish for fuller information on 

 the subject should consult the works of Youatt, and the more recent book 

 of Dr. Fleming. 



"Whilst too great care and caution cannot be used in dealing with a 

 disease so dangerous, I wish to warn my readers against that unnecessary 

 and hysterical alarm which dethrones the reason, and predisposes to the 

 gravest results. If there be reason to suspect a dog of madness, if his 

 natural disposition appears changed without a traceable cause, if he tears 

 and bites at his bedding, pieces of wood, carpets, dirt, etc., if he be seen 

 to paw at his mouth frequently, whilst no obstructive articles is in his 

 throat, if at intervals he snaps and bites savagely at objects real and 

 imaginary, if, after these paroxysms, he be seen to stagger and fall, if he 

 show an insatiable thirst — if any or all of these symptoms be present, shut 

 him up where he can do no harm, and call in to your aid a verterinary 

 surgeon. By allowing Him to study the case, you will do a public good; 

 for fortunately, cases of rabies are very rare, and it is only' by the careful 



