Rabies] 2 ^6 [Rabies 



difficult to describe on paper ; it is half a bark and 

 half a howl ; it commences with a bark and 

 finishes up with a dismal howl. A rabid dog 

 is much disposed to wander if he can only get 

 his liberty, and once he gets out he often goes 

 for miles on a sort of jog-trot, with head 

 and tail down, going out of his way to attack 

 other dogs, but not so much people, unless they 

 get directly in his way, or interfere with him. He 

 may wander for hours, or perhaps a day and a 

 night, and then return home. A rabid dog, 

 though he refuses good food, will gnaw and 

 eat all sorts of foreign substances ; for instance, 

 if he is in a kennel, he will gnaw and eat the 

 woodwork ; if behind railings or chained up, the 

 ironwork, even to the extent of breaking his 

 teeth. If confined in a room, he will gnaw the 

 door, legs of chairs, carpets, curtains, etc. I 

 have known one to eat his way through a two- 

 inch door in a couple of hours. A rabid dog is 

 not afraid of water ; in fact, he drinks a good deal 

 at first, before the symptoms are fully developed, 

 and even during the latter stages, though he is 

 unable to swallow, he will thrust his muzzle into a 

 basin of water and try to drink. 



As the disease advances, he becomes weak in 

 the back legs, and ultimately quite paralysed, and 

 if not killed, dies within four or five days ; but 

 some have been known to live as long as seven 

 days. 



In dumb rabies, so called, the lower jaw is 

 dropped in the early stages through paralysis, 

 and the dog is unable to close the mouth. This 



