PNEUMONIA. 45 
of them appear in acute pleurisy, no intelligent person ought to confound these 
diseases. Pleurisy is very rare among dogs, whereas they are frequent victims 
of pneumonia. Again, in the former the fever is seldom high, and it soon falls ; 
moreover, the breathing almost always becomes easier in the course of twenty- 
four hours. Finally, these diseases differ greatly in severity ; and a dog suffering 
from pneumonia is unmistakably very ill, while one with pleurisy, at least at first 
presents no such positive signs. 
Since to recognize a case of pneumonia from the symptoms described is easy, 
it is not necessary to dwell long upon the physicians’ means of diagnosis, auscul- 
tation and percussion. Were a case examined early, an educated ear might de- 
tect a crackling sound. But this is not loud; moreover, when the ear is at the 
chest, the hair under it gives off a sound which is almost identical with that 
emitted by a pneumonic lung. 
As for percussion, when applied to the chest over a lung that is solidified, as 
in pneumonia, the sound heard is flat, whereas there is resonance over a healthy 
lung. But notwithstanding this means of diagnosis is usually emphasized as 
highly important, and the impression conveyed that its application is easy, as a 
matter of fact it is far from being so. Furthermore, it is not required in a case 
presenting the symptoms already described. 
There is one sign which can be considered positive of pneumonia. This may 
appear if the cough is severe and causes the patient to “gag,” and there is mucus 
expelled. If now that mucus or slime has a reddish tint, the color being due to 
the presence of blood, it may be accepted as indubitable evidence of pneumonia ; 
that is, if the other symptoms indicative of the disease accompany it. But this 
so-called “rusty sputa” is not often seen in dogs, for the reason that the mucus 
secretion in the affected lung is thick and tenacious, and not only is it with diffi- 
culty “raised” by the patient, but if it comes up out, of the bronchial tube, it 
generally clings to the throat and is swallowed; moreover, the reddish tint may 
be wanting, or too faint to be appreciable. 
Where the disease is likely to pursue an unfavorable course, signs that are 
significant often appear early. If at first the temperature is about 105°, and con- 
tinues as high for several days, the chances are decidedly against the patient. 
A slight acceleration of the pulse each day may be expected; but if after the 
third or fourth day it rises very considerably and keeps up, the outlook is un- 
favorable. The same is true if the breathing, very rapid at first, at no time 
exhibits any improvement, or increases in rapidity daily. Finally, the danger 
is always greater when this disease occurs with other diseases, and especially 
with distemper. 
Once pneumonia fixes itself, it must run its course. Its severity may however 
in some cases be greatly lessened by appropriate remedies, and the patient’s symp- 
toms thereafter be scarcely more pronounced and distressing than those of a 
severe cold; but still the disease must pass through its various stages. 
