Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1889-11-22
DOGS PRONE TO MADNESS,
Are Some Breeds More Subject to the
Malady Than Others?


Maiady Than Others?
Harrison Weir. the English artist
and illustrator, renowned as a student
of natural history, writes to The Lon
don Standard on the subject of hydro
phobia as follows: A short time since
letters appeared in The Standard re-
lating to the muzzling of dogs, etc.
One from a vegetarian stated that if
dogs were fed on vegetables there
would be no madness. / was too busy
at the time to reply to this assertion,
but now do so. | had a collie dog
that to my knowledge was never fed
on other food than biscuits in the win
ter and oatmeal and vegetables in the
summer, yet for all this the dog went
mad-nor was it bitten, as no wound
could be discovered ON it. Again, how
will the vegetarian reconcile his the
DRY with the fact of the deer in Rich
mond park going made Surely these
never tasted meat.
Again, | cannot think for one mo-
ment that those who keep entirely
useless dogs ought to object to the
other portion of the community en-
deavoring as much as possible to pro-
tect themselves from direful, painful,
horrible death. What a man keeps
for his pleasure ought not to be to the
detriment of others. know of moth
ing so wearying to the suffering, tired
and sleepless as the continued barking
of the dog; but add to this the also con
tinual fear of madness, and is it too
much to ask that such dogs should be
prevented from doing bodily harm
either to the human or brute creation?
But this is not the reason of my
writing, though it leads to it. For
many years | have thought it would
be well if the breed of every dog show
ing particular and sudden ferocity or
madness could be reported, and thus it
might be observed whether any one
breed was more prone to the outburst
than another. For very long time |
have endeavored as much as | could to
find out whether there existed any diff
ference i'll this respect, and, as far as l
can ascertain, in all truthfulness l am
bound to say that l believe there are
more retrievers on the list than any
other breed-eight or nine to one
Very few fox terriers, two or three
pointers, two spaniels, no greyhounds
nor dachshunds, no poodles, but the
number of retrievers have been extra
ordinary and continuous.
Only short time since in converse
ton with friend who kept retriever,
| said Il would not keep one if | were
paid 5000 year" Why" said he,
you would find he is the most de-
lightful dog" etc l saw my friend
the other day, when he told me the
dog had suddenly bitten several chill.
dren and had to be destroyed and he
then mentioned other cases. When
| last wrote on this question called
attention to the retriever, and | re-
ceived number of letters, all stating
cases within the writer's knowledge of
the peculiar unreliability of the breed.
| may add, although am very fond
have or keep black retriever.
What l wish to ask through your
columns is this, that in some way or
other a report should be furnished
either by the police or others, making
known in cases of madness or at in
quests the breed or breeds of such dogs
for the purposes of science and for
noting whether it is really undesirable
that such and such breeds should be
kept at all. l am told that the Pome-
ranian is an unreliable dog, and in
some countries is not allowed but of
tins am not acquainted. But think
it is time that some method should be
adopted to learn the statistics of mad
ness in the breeds of dogs, so that
some measures should be taken to pre-
vent the fearful consequences of by
drophobia beyond that of simply muz
cling.