406 KENNEL DISEASES. 
a liquid and the stomach empty, absorption does not occur and poisoning take 
place within ten minutes. While were the same poison a powder and enclosed 
in a piece of meat, it might not cause death for nearly an hour. 
In the great majority of cases in which dogs exhibit suspicious signs, it is 
quite difficult to decide positively whether or not they have been poisoned. 
And in cases manifestly of poisoning it is even more difficult to determine, 
with absolute certainty, the poisons that have been taken. Of the characteris- 
tic symptoms, those produced by strychnia are very pronounced, and yet the 
same may be excited by worms and a variety of other causes. Therefore, for 
a time at least, after his dog had fallen victim to that poison it would scarcely 
be possible for the average owner to fix upon the precise cause of the convul- 
sions with which he had to contend. Another unfortunate fact is, that in most 
cases of poisoning the injury is inflicted while the dogs are not under observa- 
tion, and likely when far from home; consequently several hours have gener- 
ally elapsed before their signs of distress are discovered. Then, as a rule, the 
poisons have been absorbed from the stomach and entered circulation, and the 
difficulty of combating their baneful effects is much greater than it would have 
been during the first few minutes, or possibly hour. 
These disadvantages under which one must labor while making a diagnosis 
in suspicious cases should be duly appreciated, for those who were ignorant 
of them, assuming that positive symptoms are always exhibited, would scarcely 
detect instances of poisoning before the chances of a cure had long gone by. 
When a dog is taken suddenly ill and his symptoms suggest poisoning, to 
determine his whereabouts during several hours previous is the first important 
step to be taken. If found that he had not been out of the house or his yard, 
manifestly the chances of having been poisoned would be very small indeed, 
unless there were unfriendly neighbors, or complaints had recently been lodged 
against him for barking or other misdemeanor. Whereas had he been at large, 
of course his opportunities for picking up a poison would have been many. 
Aside from strychnia, there is not a poison from which dogs are likely to 
suffer that produces, invariably, symptoms that are plainly indicative of the 
precise cause. That powerful agent speedily excites convulsions; but other 
harmful drugs give rise to quite vague and ill-defined symptoms which may 
be attributable to various diseases as well as to different poisons. For instance, 
arsenic produces violent inflammation of the stomach and intestines. Pre- 
cisely the same condition follows the taking of mercury, phosphorus and 
other irritant poisons, of which there are many; and the symptoms induced 
are also identical. Excepting, therefore, when poisoning has been caused by 
strychnia or some of its kindred, as nux vomica, it is rarely possible to do 
more than determine merely that poisoning has occurred, and that the noxious 
agent belongs to one of several classes; while to fix upon the actual poison 
must be quite impossible. 
