DOGS : THEIR MANAGEMENT. 297 



cent pond ; and of all things he is to allow no man more 

 acquainted with dogs than the other spectators to bleed 

 the creature. Any offer to rub the nose with syrup of 

 buckthorn, however confidently he who makes the pro- 

 posal may recommend that energetic mode of treatment, 

 is to be unhesitatingly declined. The friendly desire of 

 any one who may express his willingness to ram a secret 

 and choice specific down the prostrate animal's throat, 

 must be refused with firmness. The attendant must how- 

 ever take advantage of the time the dog is on the ground 

 to pass a handkerchief round the neck or through the 

 collar. This done, he must wait patiently till the dog 

 gets upon its legs, when he must, amidst its struggles to 

 be free, caress it and call it kindly by its name. That 

 part of the business over, he must take the creature in 

 his arms, and seeking the nearest cab-stand, carry the 

 poor animal with all expedition homeward. 



I have known a dog to have a succession of fits which 

 lasted more than an hour ; and yet this creature, by the 

 treatment I shall presently describe, was the next day 

 upon its legs, and to all appearance as well as ever. 



The dog being brought home, if the fit continues, give 

 nothing by the mouth ; because the animal being insen- 

 sible cannot swallow ; and the breathing being laborious, 

 anything administered is more likely to be drawn on to 

 the lungs, and so to suffocate the creature, than to pass 

 into the stomach, and thus (if it have any curative pro- 

 perties) effect a restoration. On this account the very 

 best physic ever invented would be dangerous, and 



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