Lexington gazette. [volume] (Lexington, Va.) 1871-1962, 1908-06-03
The Danger and Cost of Unmuz-
zled Dogs

Baltimore, Richmond and other
cities are wrestling with the dog
proposition. Many men who thaye
given the question careful thought
and investigation recognize the
promlscuous running at large of
dogs as an evil, even menance to
the welfare of the community.
They claim this to be strikingly
tue Of cities and towns.
In view Of the Widespread inter-
est in this question the folio wing
article from the Richmond Times
Dispach is reproduced in our col
umns:
We note that Superintendent Cohen
is engaged in killing stray dogs, which
leads us again to call attention to the
statistics on hydrophobia in England
and Wales, which a correspondent of
the New York Sun states thns
From 184S to 1885 no less than 939
persons an average of about twenty-five
year-perished from this disease. In
1874 the number Of deaths rose to sixty
-one, and in 1877 the deaths from rabies
were seventy-nine- the highest num-
Der on record for any one year.
In 1895 the muzzling law, which had
been repealed, was again enacted, and
in 1897 there were six deaths from hy-
drophobia in England and Wales. In
1898 there were but two, and for the
last eight years, or from January l
1899, to December 81, 1906, but two per-
sons died from this disease. The dis
ease would seem to have been absolute
ly stamped out of England bI the
most simple method of prevention inn
imaginable.
This suggestion Of muzzle for all
Gogs is further strengthened by the ar
gument that sheep.kiling dogs levy ali
enormous tax on this country. In Eng
land and Germany, where dogs are re-
garded as dangerous, and where an
horde of unmuzzleds dogs would no
more be tolerate ed than packs OF wolves,
this contrast is emphasized by the sta
tistics Of the wool clips in the United
Kingdom and the United States. With
an area of 1925, 900 square miles tie
United States produces about 300, OOO,-
000pounds of grease wool, or 50 pounfs
to the square mile. Great Britain and
Ireland, on the other hand, with an
area of 10000 square miles, have
wool clip OF 100000, 900 pounds or l ,l5S
pounds to the square mile At the Eng
lish rate of production a square mile
the United States would produce -
500, 100000 pounds a year, or % per
cent. more than the persons produc-
ton of wool in the whole world, and
instead of importing wool we should
have a large surplus available for ex'
port.
Yet so firmly entrenched does the
unmuzzled dog seem TO be in America
that a high official in the national adj
ministration recently said:
The forest service and the Bureau CT
Biological Survey of this department
are using their best efforts TO destroy
wild animals. but doubt whether we
could NEEDLE with dogs inside the
States. The solution of the sheep and
dog problem will be found by putting
up woven wire fences, which will keep
the dog out and the sheep in.
The Virginia law makes no require
ment for muzzlirg dogs, but sets tax
on all dogs, proceeds OF which sre to be
held as Il special fund ''remunerating
the inhabitants Of the said counties
for any loss they may sustain from
dogs killing or cripplng their sheep,
lalr be- or other live stock. The law al
so provides that if the fund raised by
the tax is not sufficient to meet the
damage done by the dog, then the suff-
erers must share their losses proper
tionateIy. Would it rot be better to
make the losses impossible by muzz ling
the dogs, for sheep waDtonly destroy
ed are as much a loss to the cCmmuni
ty as the destruction of property by
fire or earthquake? Repairing the loss
OF property by taxes may shift the bur
den, but does not regain the wealth de-