New-York tribune., 1908-05-24
WAR on STRAY DOGS
IN 4NTIR4BIES CRUSADE.
s. p. {. #. Issues Statement to
FOrestoH annual Scare"

FOrestQU annual Scare.
In the determination 10 control he-dogs OF this
city and TO do away with those whose owners
are lax in caring for them, the Department Of
Health is confronted with lack Of money TO
prosecute the anti-rabies crusade. The American
Society for the Prevention OF Cruelty 10 Animals
irtends TO be more vigant, if that is possible, in
.ts share of the work, and the Health Board may
decide on Wednesday 10, ask the Board of Esti-
mate and Apportionnnent for more money, so that
It may take active part il protecting cluzehs
from stray dogs.
Or Rensel. the sanitary superintendent, was toIa
last evening Of the report that the Department OF
Health was TO join with the Society for the Pre-
xention Of Cruelty TO Animals in slaughterlng lNe
one hundred and fifty thousand stray dogs esu-
mated 10 be in the city. Dr. Bensel said that tne
department had made no particular plans alIo
-bs+ The society would continue its work as here
-ofnre Close attention will he paid to all sus-
,jciolIs dogs and these the society proDao4y VIII
SEND TO the research laboratory That Is "heie
6oee -bat have bitten persons which act Queerly
are sent for observation
71-,,1e ,ba Denartrnent OF Health is eager TO get
after the dogs and the Society for the prevention
of Cruelty To Animals seems deslrous OF cooper
ating the latter has issued a communication
which casts doubt on the existence = RABIES Inc
communication states that the last authenc oealh
f-or rabies was in 1902 This statement was issued
after The death OF Mr.. Marsh and despite the Iact
thar the Department Of Health has record OF
t7zenty-eight deaths for last year
DR. George H Hart, Of the pathological olNIs-
5or of The Depar1nlent of Agriculture at Washlns-
ton published recently an article on faoIes anu
Its Increasing Prevalence, and IN conlI
the Pennsylvania Society for the FTeN NelCtoH , %
Cruelty 10 Animals called attention TO DE- CilaIes
" Dulles lecturer on the history Of medicine at
the University OF Pennsylvania, who SAID thaI NY
orophobia was extremely rare ana mat ne tdo
failed after sixteen years of investigation 10 mo
q single case on record that can be concIuslNeIs
haz-e
The Society for the Prevention OF Cruelty 10 AM.
rna!s saws that DR.. Dulles made special stuog oI
rabies and during the period referred to inFeSu
gated either personally by correspondence
every reported in The newspapers OF l4e CI'eo
States. The article says:
To continue this society's quotations 9t eminent
PHYSICIANS the late Dr. hiram CoIson; Nl1'e PIib
dne ne searched diligently for the disease IN AMI AMI
ma. or man. wrote: i nave never lounu q iSai
case II hydrophohia-
Then Dr. Matthew Woods is said 10 have made
quest for the disease lor twenty years and for SIX
years offered a reward Of 800 10 any person VINO
would b-lns him such patient
Iydrophobla Is one Of the rarest diseases oy
winch humanity is afflicted. and rabies, the canine
disease frcm which hydr0phobia IS supposed 70 DC
contracted is also one Of the rarest dlseases OF I
dog Medical men Of enInenCe have not nesllated
70 say that there Is no such o-Ses @ '@I ton5 - Ind
that what We cali the microbe OF hydrophobla is
Dr.. Park. OF the Research Laboratory "heh ne
saw this communication, said:
The Society for the Prevention Of Cruelty TO
Animals employees do not handle mad dogs There
has been fight against admission that there is
such a disease rabies or hydrophobla, but l
believe that We ought know something about it.
We had a record Of twenty-eight deaths last year.
and then the Marsh case comes along. There is
10 doubt that Mr.. Marsh had hydrophobia. The
r-icrohe was in the brain. 1t found only in
cases Of rabies. and have examined many hun
dreds of dogs having all kinds of canine diseases,
and that has been free from rabies has had
the nicrofe called Negri bodies, after the physi-
clan who discovered them
They say that the last authentic death oc-
Cured in 1862 There have been so many deaths
from rabies, authenticated cases, since that time
That the statement sounds odd. The Negrf bodies
are positive evidences Of rabies. We have estab-
lshed that fact II has passed out Of the field of
conjecture
This rricrobe has been investigated by Dr. Anna
Vessels Williams and DR.. May NJ. Lowden, bac-
teriologists Of The Research Laboratory They pub
Ished a paper the result Negri's discovery
was repeatedly verified. Dr. Park said that guinea
pigs inoculated with matter from rabd dogs al
ways died showing all the symptoms Of hydro
phobia. and analysis showed the Negri body.
William X Horton. general manager of the So
oiety for the Prevention Of Cruelty TO Animals in
sending out the communication. said its pub
licauon was intended to forestan the annual mad
dog scare" The communication ends with this
statement:
From n the statements Of both sides and with due
conclusion in the premises would seem 10 be that
there can be 10 great danger Of 2 disease where
the last authentic death occurred 1852. that
dog IS no more dangerous in summer than in win
ter. ana that many goodE1og has been shot on
suspicion a hot day Just because its tongue
was hanging out-wlich has passed into an axiom
as Indication of thirst.
David Steinfeld the official dog catcher NJ Afo-+
clair. y. J.. has issued a challenge 70 the author
tiles here that he viii permit any mad dog they
select TO bite him II they viii make Il worth
wflile' and he adds. IF I DO not come ont all
-L +-z-sF1 H.
e says that he has often been bitten by mad dogs
but has never had "a hies