240 The Management and Diseases of the Dog. 



his system, and the necrological record is anything but 

 encouraging. 



Fortunately, however, compared with other canine 

 maladies, rabies is of rare occurrence, and it would almost 

 appear to derive its importance from periodical scares. 

 The year 1887 will be memorable for the intense public 

 excitement on the question, and especially for the extra- 

 ordinary manner in which morbid minds magnified the 

 complaint, and painted harmless affections in hideous 

 colours. These morbid minds being suffered to run riot, 

 worked an almost irreparable injury to our ordained com- 

 panions and most devoted friends. An absurd hysterical 

 scare promoted an equally absurd, and in my opinion, un- 

 grounded hydrophobic alarm. The outcome of this panic, 

 and the arbitrary administration of the police regulations, 

 were the formation of " The Dog Owners' Protectioii Asso- 

 ciation," the preliminary meeting for its promotion, over 

 which I had the honour to preside, being held at the Hyde 

 Park Hotel, on the 30th August, 1887. Subsequently 

 Lord Mount Temple became president. Following this, 

 but holding adverse views, " The Society for the Preven- 

 tion of Hydrophobia " sprang into existence. Then Lord 

 Mount Temple's Registration Bill was introduced, and re- 

 ferred to a select committee of the House of Lords, at 

 which I was summoned to give evidence. 



It is a fact worthy of note that the sudden withdrawal 

 of the Police Regulations and Muzzle in London, which 

 took place the day before my address at the first public 

 meeting of " The Dog Owners' Protection Association " in 

 the Kensington Town Hall, produced no increase of rabies. 



Before going into the nature and symptoms of the 

 jnalady, a few words regarding the terms applied to it 

 are, I think, necessary. 



Hydrophobia, signifying /mr I?/ wafer, is in canine patho- 

 logy a misnomer, and probably has had much to do with the 

 erroneous idea that this symptom is present in dogs. To this 



