The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1874-06-13 00:00:00

"MAD DOGS!"

" An alarm about canine madness is one that is almost
certain to recur periodic ally with the recurrence of hot
weather, although it has long been known to all who are
practically acquainted with the subject that neither season
nor temperature exerts any appreciable influence upon the
prevalence of the disease," remarks The Tins, in a leader,
and continues—

In England, where dogs are so often killed in mere
panic, no trustworthy statistics with reference to this
part of the question can be obtained; in France, where
careful observations hare been made, it has been
shown that the difference between the different
. . .
pert

criods of the year is only trivial, but that, in fact,
More authenticated cases of rabies occur in Spring.
The Summer and Winter quarters afford each about
the same number, and the Autumn quarter is the
least severely visited. During the six years from 1863
to 1868 the French Departmental Reports recorded 89
cases during March, April, and May; 74 during June,
July, and August; 64 during September, October,
and November; and 75 during December, January,
and February. These figures are hardly sufficient to
form the basis of any very definite conclusions; and
it is probable that the Returns themselves may have
been imperfect. But it is fair to assume that the
errors would balance each other as far as the single
question of season is concerned, especially as there is a
general concurrence of testimony upon the point.
Notwithstanding this, in hot weather, and especially
in large towns, it is not uncommon to see dogs which
are manifestly suffering from thirst; and a dog which
is thirsty and bewildered is almost certain to be con-
denined as rabid, even although there may not be a
particle of evidence to justify the charge. During
the last few weeks we have had to record several
groundless alarms of this description; and many dogs,
probably none of them mad, have been destroyed.
We know but little of the natural history of hydro-
phobia, the constantly fatal human malady which is
caused, sometimes at least, by the bites of rabid
animals; but there is reason to believe that it may be
due in many cases as much to fear as to any infection
communicated by the bite. A dog which has lost its
master and its way, which has perhaps committed
some petty theft, which has been pelted and chased
and driven frantic with terror, may probably bite
half-a-dozen pecple before its career is brought to a
close. If the dog is then killed, all those whom it has
kitten are condemned to weeks or months of mental
torture or anxiety ; while, if it were shut up and
kindly treated, a few hours would often prove that
there were no madness in the case, and no harm of
any kind to be anticipated. The symptoms of genuine
rabies differ widely from the popular conception of
the peculiarities of "a mad dog," and are very similar
to those which in the human being attend upon forms
of insanityaccompanied by what are technically called
"hallucinations "—that is to say, by voices or visions
which have no reality except the sensations of the
sufferer. The mad dog, in the early stages of the
malady, is plainly the subject of such hallucinations,
and makes furious attacks upon imaginary enemies,
or barks or howls in response to imaginary sounds.
dlt undergoes an obvious change in character and
disposition; the forward and fussy dog becoming shy
and gloomy, seeking to hide itself in corners, and
finding no rest anywhere. When called by its master,
the poor creature seems for the time to escape
from its phantoms, and to manifest its joy
by every sign of gratitude and affection, espe-
cially by constantly licking the hands or face if brought
within reach. M. Bouley, of Lyons, who has studied
rabies with great care, tells us always to suspect a dog
which is restless and which yet wishes for solitude,
which goes about snapping at the air or suddenly
barking without apparent cause, which seeks or scrapes
inceeiantly, and, above all, which has become too fond
of those known to it, and is continually endeavouring
to lick their hands and faces. Such symptoms call
for seclusion in some place of safety, and for the opinion
of a competent veterinary surgeon. But even M. Bouley
himself could hardly pronounce upon the case of a dog
which had been chased through a crowded thorough-
fare as a preliminary to speedy execution by a police-
man's truncheon
The stories about hydrophobia occurring seven years
or twenty years after the bite are probably in most
cases fables ; and, if not fables, they at least show that
the disease nyty arise spontaneously; but yet there is
no certainty with regard to the period of time at which
it can be said that all danger hiei ceased. Accordin6,
to the best authorities, when two months have elapsed
the person bitten by a rabid animal may entertain a
well-grounded hope of escape, and after ninety days
the occurrence of hydrophobia is almost exceptional.
It appears from returns furnished by the Police that
sixty-seven slogs have been reputed to be mail, and
have been destroyed, within the Metropolitan dis-
trict between the Ist of January and the 31st of
May of the present year. One of these dogs worried
forty sheep and killed some ducks, and one of the
sheep is said to have died of rabies five weeks
afterwards. In the other sixty-six cases there was
no evidence of madness beyond the fact of the accusa-
tion. Not a single case (4 hydrophobia has been re-
ceived into any of the Metropolitan Hospitals, and of
twenty-five policemen who have been bitten by dogs
only five were sufficiently hurt to be placed upon the
sick list, and only one of these is still absent from
duty. It would seem from these figures that the fear
of hydrophobi s recently excited has not been due to
the existence of any corresponding degree of danger.
If the sixty-six dogs which were said to be mad have
bitten any persons, it is certain that none of these have
as yet suffered, and that a large proportion of them
insist now be comparatively safe. But the proba-
bilities are that not one of the dogs was either mad or in
the slightest danger of becoming so, and that, if they
had been shut up and watched for a time, the symp-
toms which gave rise to the belief would have been
found to admit of some different interpretation.

Notwithstanding, however, all needful allowance for
popular exaggeration, there can be no doubt that the
number of stray and masterless dogs in the Metropolis
is such as to call for active interference on the part of
the authorities. They are nuisances even when they
are not sources of danger. In the five months already
r,ferred to, no fewer than 7,246 dogs were seized by the
police. Of these, 643 were promptly restored to their
owners and 6,603 were sent to the Do's Home, where,
according to the Secretary, not a simle dog has shown
any symptoms of madness. But the conditions of '
Metropolitan life, at least in the more closely in-
habited portions, are totally opposed tothe maintenance
of canine health and comfort, and the keeping of dogs
in the more crowded parts of towns, or in streets
where the houses have no convenient yards and other
back premises, ought undoubtedly to be in every way
discountenanced. Few things can be more unnatural
than the existence of a collie or a retriever who spends
his days in a London area. The animals thus kept
are often household pets, and, as such, are treated with
all kindness; but the kindness itself borders very
closely upon cruelty. It has been proposed to
diminish the number of dogs by publishing lists
of the licence-holders, and by giving rewards to
any who inform against those who keep dogs without
a licence. Would it not also be possible to restrict the
issue of licences, and to grant them, in large towns,
only to those who occupy premises upon which dogs
might be kept without becoming sources of offence to
the neighbours or passers-by, and on which due atten-
tion to food, water, cleanliness, and exercise should at
least be possible.? Such a restriction as this would
abolish the gnat majority of the curs that swarm
in St. Giles d and in kindred localities. It would be
no cause of grievous lamentation to the friends and
relatives of the owners if it should have the inci-
dental effect of despatching into the country many
of the favourites which now 101 l out of Belgravian car-
riages. To some, no doubt, the suggested piohibition
would seem arbitrary and uncalled-for. But the fact
is that the dog, admirable as a companion and friend
in the country, has no proper place in the life of great
cities. The dwellers in towns must sacrifice many
things in return for the benefits they receive' and, in
London at least, it would be well if the society of dogs
were to be included among the number. The demand
for them is almost entirely artificial, and, after a
while, their absence would no longer be regretted even
by their best friends.