The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-09-08

Fancy it being necessary for physi-
clans to warn women not to kiss dogs
Or other anlmaisi Such was recently
the case in Paris, where some physician
publicly warned women against the
danger of kissing dogs, and told of sew
eral of his feminine patients who had
contracted skin diseases from this
ridiculous habit. The warning is just
as much needed over here, for women
not only kiss dogs, but cats as well.
What silly, silly thing it is to kiss a
dog or a cat! 1t is all well to love
them and want to have them about,
but it is foolish beyond words to waste
so much affection and so many kisses
upon them, besides being very danger
Gus. A young woman in Paris went to
her physician with a strange trouble
with her teeth and gums, the latter
swollen beyond ordinary proportions.
The medical man was much puzzled
and could not imagine what was the
matter. Finally he asked her if she
was in the habit Of kissing her dog,
and she not only said she was, but
pooh-poohed the idea of it's being inju-
rious to her, and she said she should
continue to do so. Finally, however,
the doctor convinced her that 1t was
the cause of the abnormal condition of
her mouth, and persuaded her not only
to give up her osculatory demonstra-
tions, but to give her dog away, which
she only consented to do with tears.
Did you ever hear of anything so silly
in your life! 1t has always been a mys-
terry to some persons why, when life
goes a little crooked, certain women
take to dogs for solace. 1t would ap-
pear that with some of the feminine
sex the more they see of men the bet
ter they like dogs. Would it be unjust
to say that it is a sign of weakness of
character or mind or something, to
waste so much love upon dogs? When
women are childless-rich women
how much better it would be to take
some homeless child or children and
love them and do for them than to
spend their lives in making a silly little
dog look ridiculous, to say nothing of
how absurd they appear themselves?
Have dog, too, if you want one. When
the millennium arrives there will be
no need for orphan asylums. These
women who have no children and take
to dogs will argue that it is dangerous
to adopt children, as you never know
how they are going to turn out. But
madam, do you know how your own
children are going to turn out? 1t is
all risk and an uncertainty and anX-
iety, but women were never intended to
nurse dogs; that much is certain. The
love for animals can be carried to an
extreme and many of us know of cases
among our friends and acquaintance
where it is so. In Chicago they have
beautiful home for stray cats and
dogs, yet the streets are full of neg
lected children and criminal children.
This is the humane idea gone mad
Is there a more ridiculous sight than
an elegantly dressed woman sitting in
victoria, and beside her a poodle sit
ting up straight with a large pink bow
on his neck? Laugh her to scorn; ridi-
cule may help to bring her to her
senses. Another way to cure her is to
urge her to get out in the slums and
see the real work that is needed among
the poor; if she becomes interested
and has large heart, Fido will have to
take to the back yard, where he be-
longs.