SOURCES OF INFECTION 53 
and the routine labour of scrubbing and disinfecting 
their pens, and sterilising implements. Thus, unless 
rank carelessness can be proved, it is hardly fair to 
blame the shop should a dog develop distemper shortly 
after purchase; it is the expected result and the risk 
must be accepted. 
Dog Homes.—Many people, in the hope of “ picking up 
a bargain,” bestow their patronage upon one or other of 
the homes for lost or starving dogs. In these cases, if a 
dog is purchased, it is a foregone conclusion that dis- 
temper has been bought too—with hardly an exception— 
unless the animal is middle-aged and possessed of an 
active immunity. 
To consign one’s pet to any of these charitable institu- 
tions, to be boarded during the owner’s pleasure, is 
equally risky, even though the boarders may be located 
in specially provided quarters well away from the stray 
dogs. A more commendable plan would be to choose 
a reputable boarding establishment, preferably where 
veterinary examination is available and no distemper 
cases permitted on the premises. Veterinary infirmaries 
and private sanatoria or boarding establishments which 
refuse to accept any animal suffering from, or under 
suspicion of, distemper will—if conducted on sound 
principles—have a system of isolation by which every 
new-comer will undergo observation in a special ward 
for three weeks, before being moved into the main build- 
ing or allowed to use the same exercising ground as 
other dogs of proved health. 
In further pursuance of this plan, a special kennelman 
is required, whose duties and instructions preclude him 
from attending to or mixing with any animals other than 
those under observation. To ensure further the non- 
communication of possible infection from one ward to 
another, measures should be taken to destroy all vermin, 
