Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-07-06
MAD DOG scARss.
As Rule. They R~srtt From Is.no-
rance AID Pre- ss-ffrc

As Rule. They R~sr,t From rs.no-
rance aad Prcs cdicc.
With the advent of S1ininer comes
the usual mad dog" scare. These
scares in Il great majority Of cases arc
the result OF ignorance and prejudice.
For eight or nine years / made IL
practice 10 personally Investigate mad
dog scarcS. l found that In 80 cases
out OF every 100 the scare was ground
less. that the dog was not mad and
that all the fantastic and terrible Incl
dents were filled by the imaginative
reporter.
! have been II close student OF dog
life from my boyhood. l have bred,
trained and treated dogs OF most
breeds. and although have visited the
Kennels. refugees and dog pounds Of
various countries and seen many thou
sands OF stray "vaSabond dogs have
yet TO see a genuine ease of rabies.
This, | may say. is Il common expert
ence with veterinary surgeons. Hun
dreds of them, after years of active
practice. declare that although they
may have been called upon to treat
dogs for all kinds of ailments they
have not seen case Of true rabies.
Take the testimony of DIR. Stackwell, n
celebrated authority on dog diseases.
He says: True rabies presents multi
pie and varied phenomena without
single. constant feature: hence its pres
ence is with difficulty determined even
10y an expert. Indeed SO erratic are
its symptoms and it's manifestations
that 1t is Il greatly mooted point wheth-
er ii exists a malady sui gcneriS at all.
DistempeT. toOthache. earache, enilep-
sy and the whole class of nervous dis
eases TO which dogs are subject are
constantly mistaken for it, Person
ally" ne adds, after more than so
years experience as a dog owner and
student OF canine and comparative
medicine | have yet to meet with
genuine case of rabies in the dog. and
OF some scores of so called rabid dogs
submitted TO me for my inspection
have found them Que and all to be suf-
fering from other and comparatively
innocent diseases"
This, as l said before. is not by any
means an uncommon experience among
veterinary surgeons.
In the spring of 1897 mad dog
scare was raised in London by n Ger
tain class OF people who had n great
commercial interest in raising mad
dog" scares Gnuzzle manufacturers.
They, as usual, received every assist
ance from credulous public and
sensational press. The board of agri-
culture finally took the matter up and
issued an order to the effect that all
dogs appearing on the public highway
should be tightly muzZled with wire
cage muzZlc invented 10y the aforesaid
manufacturers. During the first three
months of the scare over 10000 dogs
were seized i'm the streets as ''vagabond
strays," and not Il single case of rabies
was discovered among them.
1t should be borne I'm mind that dogs.
like men. are subject TO certain dis
eases. They have their diseases of
puppyhood and old age. They have
thcir stomachic and nervous troubles
Just rs we have and require intelligent
treatment and kind attention TO pull
them through these attacks. III dog
owners would only take more intelli-
gent interest i'm their pets, we should
hear less of mad dog scarcs. Dogs
TO be kept healthy should be fed twice
day regularly. consider the scraps
from the table the best food for dogs
OF all sizes. The dog gets change
which is beneficial. Never try TO make
an 9ld dog eat dog biscuits III he can
eat them, he will do so without much
urging.
l have had dogs that would have
starved rather than eat them. He
should have n meal of meat twice n
week and cooked liver once. This will
keep his bowels in good condition. Al
ways see that your dog is well supplied
with plenty OF good clean water. Dogs
will not drink from Il dirty bowl. nor
Will they drink foul water unless they
are forced Go IL from extreme thirst
Always look TO the teeth OF your pup
by. This is 4 matter OF the greatest
Importance. ais they have their tccthIng
fits and similar such troubles like other
Infants. Feel their gums occasionally.
and IL you find loose tooth draw it
The roots are perfectly straight. aud IL
can be drawn by the fingers.
puppy should always he treated fol
worms mt the age OF . months. lie is
almost sure TO have them.
Treat your dog intelligently and hui
namely, and you will have friend and
companion who Will stand by you aud
with you under all circumstances
Arthur Wcstcott In New York Sun.