The Republican journal., 1874-07-02
Terrible Death OF a Dog Fancicr,

\ special dispatch from New Y ork gives
the following account Of the death, We'd
ncsday, i'll Brooklyn, Of a celebrated dog
ianccr, from hydrophobia:
| The death Of Francis Butler, II well
known dog iancier, and author Of books
on dogs, from hydrophobia, last night, in
| Brooklyn, was a terrible affair For a
quarter Of a century Mr. Butler has been
a sort of authority on all matters pertain
ing to canine pets, and he was not less
widely known in sporting circles as a dog
tancier than among all classes in the com
munity as the man to consult upon all
matters concerning dogs, from the trim
ming their ears to the gravest maladies.
! Like all men who have had much to do
with dogs, he laughed at the popular
notion about their tendency to madness,
and has written frequently on the subject,
| decrying the common fear of hydrophoba
Ills letters have in past years been widely
published. He doubted whether the
disease of canine madness had 4 real cX-
| istencc, and he was quite convinced that
at all events It's occurrence is so rare that
there is no need of taking precautions
| against it.
The conviction Had cost him his life
About six weeks ago Il gentleman brought
! n dog which was sick to- his office Mr.
Butler determined 10 administer a dose of
medicine. The dog WAS hrla by boy and
medicine was forced into its mouth, but
while Mr. Butler with mis- hand in the
dogs mouth was endeavOring to make it
swallow, the animal hit the thumb Of his
right hand SO badly that the marks of six
sharp teeth could he plainly seen.
Il a wound al Ia,
had almost forgotten about it, until last
Monday morning, when III his effort to
| swallow a cup of tea at his breakfast he
convulsiye tremor, and to his surprise
discovered that his muscles would not
convey the drink to his mouth In some
alarm he turned to his wife and said
'sWhy, how strange that is, | cannot get
that tea to my lips; what can ii mean"
| She thought OF the bite of the dog inn
medately, and like u flash it came to her
that her husband had the hvtIrophobia
| but she cndeavorcd al the time to conceal
! her fears from him. and told him he was
| nervous and needed rest. .'Illuy another
cup then, he answered, but IN attempting
to drink he was again convulscd 4 few
| hours alterWard he recognized symptoms
4
| He then begged his friends to keep away
from him, and ran mp and down stairs
with stick in his hands endeavoring to
strike and bite every person who APP
| preached him. He tore the clothing from
his body. and clutching at his breast,
shrieked, There are mad dogs here. :
Physicians We're called in and We're obliged
to tie him down. and finally succeeded in
injecting morphine into his arm. This
relieved his paroNysms. He lost the
power of speech, then barked like 4 dog,
while strsaks of foam poured from his
mouth, and late ON Wednesday night he
died
Mr.. Butler was a native of England
His education was of a superior order
He was an accomplished linguist. and has
been connected with several educational
institutions as u professor of languages
He wrote popular book entitled DOG
Training He had no fear of hvdrophohia
and often expressed the opinion that il
was simply a nervous affection and that
the bite Of dog would not produce the
disease unless tear Supervcned and oc-
casioned it.