The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-05-06
THE MAD.DUG SCARE.
Editor of The Tribune.

Editor of The Tribune.
Sir:-The residents Of Scranton very nat
uraliy and properly take pride in the rapid
but solid progress and enterprise OF their
city and that in the pariance OF the day II
keeps up to date" Consequently those
matters and measures, such as ordinances
that have become antiQuated and are
very much out of date. but still remain In
force on the books, stand out in bold and
gartsh contrast. One of those evils goes
into effect on the twentieth Of the present
month and remains operative until Sept.
20. and is the ordinance passed Dec. s, lss9.
twenty.seven years ago, In relation to
dogs. One section reads: IAN dogs at
large - shall have securely put on
good, strong, substantial and safe wire
basket or muzzie enclosing the whole
mouth of said dog so as to eIrectually pre-
vent them from biting and swapping"
Surely quaint conce.t to deprive
dog from using his only means OF defense
from attacks of his own species aha the
brutaiit!es Of the human brute as well, as
to prevent him from drinking df so for.
tunate as to find water in city OF 10000
inhabitants with, l think, but one dr!ni,-
ing fountain for small. animals). but worse
than quaint to those who know that dogs
perspire almost entirely through the
tongue Is there any one who can assert
that he has felt dogs skin wet with
perspiration as in horses, cows. etc, even
after violent exercise on hot day? Now
to check perspra ton is dangerous. to pre-.
vent 1t entirely Is universally understood
to be serious, sometimes fatal, to man;
why not so to the dog? When one sees a
dogs tongue lolling out and what IS
enormously supposed to be saliva dripping
from 1t, II Is sign of health and not a
cause for alarm. The dog Ii simply per-
spring.
All such ordinances arise from the
groundiess fear Of very rare disease,
namely rabies. erroneous!y called hydro
phobia. one phase Of the disease Of rabies
tc Ian oil Nd ttrn af thn
throat, causing the animal much suffer-
ing when attempting to swallow. to swal-
low other things as we'll as water, and this
Is mistaken for an aversion to water or hy-
drophobia. There is no such disease as
hydrophobia In animals.
Hydrophobia. per Sc, exists only in two
classes of man-those that prefer whiskey
and those OF weak nerves or intellect who
scare themselves or permit others to scare
them tby over-soiicitousness kindly
meanD into a nervous condition that iin-
pels them to affect what they have al
says heard ard believed are the syrnp-
toms Of what they think is hydrophoba.
This can be carried to such an extent rs
eventually to cause death. as does nerv-
BUSINESS from other causes. OF the COM
parativcly rare cases OF death from al
legged hydrophobia the majority, If inves-
tigated. would be traced to nervousness
and fear.
The symptoms of rabies in authentic
cases of nervousness mistaken for hy-
drophobia testified to by residents Of
Scranton and others and some Of the ridic-
ulous causes Of the annual "mad-dog'
scare, hope to present later. In the
meantime let us at once set to work to e.
peal this relic of barbarism and ignorance
and thereby better insure ourselves from
the very danger from which this ordi-
nance was framed to protect US, but in
reality which 1t increases.
Richard Busted, jr.
Scranton, May 5.