248 
HYDROPHOBIA. 
is also rather elongated, so that the total length of the animal is three times as great as its 
height. The dew-claws are wanting in this variety of domestic Dog. The hair is long and 
stiaight, falling heavily over the body and limbs, and hanging so thickly upon the face that 
the eyes and nose are hardly perceptible under their luxuriant covering. The quality of the 
hail is rather harsh and wiry in the pure-bred Skye Terrier ; for the silky texture of the 
generality of “toy” Skyes is obtained by a cross with the spaniel. It is easy to detect the 
presence of this cross by the scanty appearance of the hair on the face. 
The size of this animal is rather small, but it ought not to imitate the minute proportions 
of many toy” Dogs. Its weight ought to range from ten to seventeen or eighteen pounds. 
Even amongst these animals there are at least two distinct breeds, while some Dog-fanciers 
establish a third. 
It is an amusing and clever Dog, and admirably adapted for the companionship of .man- 
kind, being faithful and affectionate in disposition, and as brave as any of its congeners, except 
that epitome of courage, the bull-dog. Sometimes, though not frequently, it is employed for 
sporting purposes, and is said to pursue that avocation with great credit. 
A history, however short, of the Dogs would be incomplete without some reference to 
that terrible disease called “Hydrophobia,” which at times arises among the canine race, and 
converts the trusted companion into an involuntary foe. From some cause, which at pre snt 
is quite unexplained, the bite of a Dog which is affected with this terrible malady, or even the 
mere contact of his saliva with a broken skin, becomes endued with such deadly virulence, 
that the unfortunate person upon whom such an injury is inflicted is as certain to die as if he 
had been struck by the poison-fangs of the rattlesnake or cobra. 
As far as is known, this dread malady appears to originate only in the canine tribe, being 
communicable to almost every other description of animal, man not excepted, and dooming 
them to a most painful illness and death. It is worthy of consideration, that the Dog does 
not perspire through the skin, and that the tongue and throat offer the only means by which 
the animal can avail itself of that needful exhalation. The symptoms of this malady are 
rather various in different individuals, but yet are of the same type in all. 
There is an entire change of manner in the animal. The affectionate, caressing Dog 
becomes suddenly cross, shy, and snappish ; retreating from the touch of the friendly hand as 
if it were the hand of a stranger. His appetite becomes depraved, and, forsaking his ordinary 
food, he eagerly swallows pieces of stick, straws, or any other innutritious substances that 
may lie in his way. He is strangely restless, seeming unable to remain in the same position 
for two seconds together, and continually snaps at imaginary objects which his disordered 
senses image in rapid succession before his eyes. Strange voices seem to fall upon his ears, 
and he ever and anon starts up and listens eagerly to the sounds which so powerfully affect 
him. Generally, he utters at intervals a wild howl, which tells its fearful tale even to unprac- 
tised ears, but in some cases the Dog remains perfectly silent during the whole of his illness, 
and is then said to be afflicted with the dumb madness. In most instances, the Dog is silent 
during the latter stages of the illness. 
Before the disease has developed itself to any extent, the poor creature becomes thought- 
ful and anxious, and looks with wistful eyes upon his friends, as if beseeching them to aid 
him in the unknown evil that hangs so heavily upon him. He then retires to his usual resting- 
place, and sluggishly lies upon his bed, paying scarcely any attention to the voice of his master, 
but strangely uneasy, and ever and anon shifting his posture, as if endeavoring to discover some 
attitude that may bring ease and repose to his fevered limbs. Fortunately, the disposition to 
bite does not make its appearance until the disease has made considerable progress. 
In these stages of the malady the Dog is often seen to fight with his paws at the corner of 
his mouth, as if endeavoring to rid himself of a bone that had become fixed among his teeth, 
and assumes much of the anxious aspect that is always seen in animals when their respiration 
is impeded. This symptom may, however, be readily distinguished by the fact that the Dog 
is able to close his mouth between the paroxysms of his ailment, which he is unable to do 
when he is affected by the presence of a bone or other extraneous substance in his throat. 
