286 THE MANAGEMENT AND DISEASES OF THE DOG. 



all the dogs died of distemper. There may have been some 

 morbid influence at work which favored the genesis and ex- 

 tension while it added to the virulency of both scourges ; 

 but beyond this we cannot at present go, for if we remember 

 aright, dogs perished about the same time in great numbers 

 from distemper in New Zealand and Australia — even the 

 dingoes, or native, wild dogs, being found dead in multitudes 

 in the scrub ; and yet we cannot ascertain that diphtheria 

 was at all prevalent, or even present, in these countries at 

 that period. 



" To our knowledge, there is only one instance of a case 

 in which accidental transmission of the disease from man to 

 an inferior animal appears likely to have occurred, and this is 

 alluded to by Dr. Sir J. Rose Cormackj in the ' Lancet ' for 

 April 24th of the present year. It is related by Professor 

 Bossi in the ' Giornale di Medicina Veterinaria Pratica d'Agri- 

 coltura,' and is to the following effect : ' A friend who had 

 lost a child by diphtheria, after a few days' illness, requested 

 me to visit a very beautiful small-breed greyhound about one 

 year old, which had become unwell a few days after swallow- 

 ing some of the child's excreta, and some remains of food 

 which had been served to him. On making a careful examin- 

 ation of the dog, Bossi found it in a state of great prostration; 

 languid look, lachrymant eyes, and open mouth copiously 

 discharging a viscid fluid; quick sibilant breathing, hoarse 

 voice, full, hard, rapid pulse ; the neck so stretched as to be 

 almost rigid; and difficulty in deglutition. By digital exam- 

 ination, the throat was discovered to be oedematous, and the 

 seat of severe pain. On opening the mouth — a difficult oper- 

 ation^the mucous membrane of the fauces was seen to be 

 red and swollen, and two ulcers were on the veil of the palate 

 and right tonsil ; that on the latter was of some size and 

 depth, and had an elevated border.' The symptoms and ap- 

 pearances in this case led Bossi to conclude that the animal 

 was suffering from diphtheria, or perhaps more correctly 

 speaking, from laryngo-pharyngeal angina of pseudo-membra- 



