The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1886-03-26
The Dogs Tongue.

A correspondent from Washington
makes statement (said to have been
obtained from an Indian chief which,
writes Il correspondent To the st. Louis
Globe Democrat. gaining wide publicity.
NAV he the indirect cause of much need
less cruelty to that most faithful OF our
domestic pets, the dog. by melting over
careful persons. or idle expcrimentalists,
TO undertake the removal of the sup
posed worm from beneath the tongue
of our semper iidelis canine friends.
This Indian ventured the information
to the correspondent that under the
tongue of every dog there is u worm
situated, which ordinarily does no harm.
but if the animal be placed under favor
able conditions will be the cause of pro-
ducing rabies or hydrophobia. Ii this
worm" he cut out the disease will
never be produced spontaneously in the
dog. neither will he contract the disease
from the bite of rabid animal. this
man CLAIMS.
That this sensclcss idea does not
originate with the chief. or his tribe of
aboriginals, is evident from the fact of
the very general knowledge of the prac-
ttCC Ill oihtItIt Isttt> VI tiit Siopt.
George Fleming, noted English
veterinarian, in his work on hydropho-
bia, says that the poet Gratius Faliscus.
of the first century of our era. speaks of
the fable of the worm i'm the dogs
tongue being the cause of the disorder.
and that Pliny. i'm the same century.
writes: IF the 'lytta. or small worm.
be removed from dog tongue, he will
never become mad or lose his appetite,
and IF the worm be carried thrice
around fire and given to Il person who
has been bitten by n mad dog il will
prevent his going mad"
In opposition TO this worse than USE
less practice can make no stronger
argument than quote from Jennings
"Rabies and Hydrophobia, London,
1872: This removal of the worm from
the dogs tongue, or 'worming.' rs il is
popularity termed. has been practiced
from the day of Piny to our own time.
and is, as might be expected, Il perfectly
useless, nay. injurious and painful oper-
alton. Beneath the organ. in the mid
die. is somewhat loose. tendinous-
looking fold of membrane. which con-
stitutes what. in technical language, is
called the .fr:enum. or bride of the
tongue, and is designed to assist the
animal in tapping When in its ordin-
ary relaxed condition this franum looks
like small worm. and the resemblance
is perhaps even more complete when it
has been torn out: hence the name of
the operation, which is a cruel one, and
gives the poor dog very sore mouth
for several days. in addition to render
ing the tongue less capable of perform
ing its important functions. The sup
position that this procedure will prevent
dog from becoming spontaneously
rabid, or liable to infection if bitten, is
excessively absurd. rs the presence of
the imaginary worm has no influence
whatever i'm the production of the
malady, while its absence must be
source of inconvenience TO the dog, and
far more likely TO induce rabies than to
prevent its occurrence. The operators
Justly deserve the punishment which will
be awarded them should they come
within the cOgnizance of the Royal
Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to
Animals. DIR. Samuel johnson, who
was never at a loss for definition,
when abiding to the opinion prevalent
in his time with regard to this worm.
called it II substance. nobody knows
what, extracted. nobody knows why