182 EVERYTHING ABOUT DOGS. 



tion to read, ponder over and digest so as to get a full and complete idea of tne 

 matter in all its bearings: 



"Although the symptoms of this terrible disease have long been recognized and 

 clearly stated by scientific men, there is still, unfortunately, great ignorance re- 

 garding 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 madness 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 excitement, and rushing wild- 

 ly 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 cry 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 num- 

 berless 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 pawing at his mouth to clear it, as 

 though choked with a bone. The disposition 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 every- 

 thing he gets hold of; nothing comes amiss to him, and the disposition 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, erroneous- 

 ly given to this disease in the dog, the poor sufferer laps water greedily as long as 

 his power over the muscles is retained, and when that is gone, plunges his head 

 fnto 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 obstruc- 

 tive article 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 veterinary 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 investigation of them by men 



