APPENDIX. D. 351 



finish this important subject by offering a few remarks, calcu- 

 lated, I would hope, to ea^e the minds of many individuals on 

 some material points which ai'e apt to occasion much unneces- 

 sary dread, and much false alarm. I would first notice, that, by 

 a very distorted view of the risk incurred by association with 

 him, the dog, at once our faithful friend, gallant protector, and 

 useful servant, is in danger of being proscribed altogether. 

 Many of those who are otherwise warmly attached to the ani- 

 mal, yet dare not indulge in the pleasure of his company, from 

 a totally unnecessary dread, grounded on a supposition that he 

 can become rabid from a variety of other circumstances besides 

 the bite of another aifected dog. I would beg to assure those 

 who think thus, that they are entirely in error ; nothing but a 

 successful inoculation can produce it ; nor, out of those actually 

 bitten, do more than a third, piobably, become mad, even when 

 an effectual inoculation has been made ; thus, there is little rea- 

 son for all the alarm that is felt. The disease never makes its 

 first appearance with any mischievous tendency : indeed, so 

 little danger is there from the early stage of the complaint, that 

 I should entertain no fear whatever were I confined altogether 

 day and night in the same room with half a dozen dogs, all duly 

 inoculated with rabid virus. The slightest degree of attention 

 will always detect some peculiarity in the affected dog's man- 

 ner — some departure from his usual habits ; and this may be 

 observed one day, at least, commonly two days, before the most 

 active symptoms commence, or before any mischievous disposi- 

 tion shows itself; and which, at the worst, is not often practised 

 towards those they are habituated to, if not meddled with. In a 

 great number of the cases that occur, no mischievous disposi- 

 tion at all appears towards human persons through the whole 

 complaint, except it be called forth by opposition and violence ; 

 which consideration tends to reduce danger still more mate- 

 rially. It ought likewise, in no small degree, to lessen the 

 dread and fear of this malady, even when the worst has hap- 

 pened, and a human person has been unfortunately bitten by a 

 rabid animal, that a ready, simple, a-id efficacious remedy is still 

 at hand, the application of which is attended with little incon- 



