The Washington herald., 1908-06-16
NOT FOR MUZZLES.
Commissioners AppealtO Dog
Owners to Be Careful.
RABIES LARGELY IMAGINATION
District Officials Ask that Dogs He
Kept on Owners Premises and
that Aid Be Given I'm the Destruc-
tion of Stray Canines-Three Pound
Wagons Soon TO Be in Service.

A step toward the solution OF the prob
lem Of dealing with rabid dogs, which
has been the subject Of so much dis
cussion recently was taken yesterday by
Commissioner Macfarland, when he is
sued an appeal TO the owners Of dogs to
keep their animals. so far as possible, on
their own premises. or 10 keep them IN
leash when on the street, and to the gem
eral public, asking their assistance In
catching unlicensed dogs.
No mention Is made Of the muzzling Of
dogs but the Commissioner suggests 20
citizens generally that they discourage
sensational rumors. that they remember
that most dogs called mad" are not mad
at all, and also that nervous people may
work themselves into a simulated hydro
phobia by dwelling upon it's symptoms
and becoming unduly excited.
President Writes TO COmmissioners.
Last week the Commissioners received
letter from the President, transmitting
one from the Secretary Of Agriculture.
inclosing a report from the chief Of the
Bureau Of Animal Industry. DR.. Mohler.
OF the number Of cases OF rabies reported
to bis bureau since January ! last. The
President. following the suggestion Of
the Secretary. asked the Commissioners
for information as TO what they had done
respecting dogs running at large In the
District of Columbia. Nothing was said
In any OF these communications as 10
muzzling dogs or any other means Of
dealing with them.
In their reply the Commissioners stated
that when 1t was reported that the num-
Der OF dogs at large was increasing and
that rabies was reported among some of
them; they had ordered an additional
pound wagon. and instructed the pound
master 10 make special efforts 10 capture
vagrant animals. AS a result 2.275 stray
animals were captured between January
30 and April %. and painlessly put to
death at the pound.
Furthermore, on account OF the reports
In May Of increasing numbers OF dogs
coming TO the city from Maryland and
Virginia, a third pound wagon was or
dered on June 2, which the health officer
Is now preparing to put into service.
DR.. Mohler, OF the Bureau OF Animal
Industry, declares that the only way TO
eliminate rabies from the District IS TO
order ali dogs allowed on the street 10 be
muZzled, and stray dogs licensed or un-
licensed. 20 be shot. he says that the
situation is too serious for any halfway
measures. The danger 10 human beings,
he maintains. far outweighs the claim
that the muzzle is cruel 20 the dog.
The Commissioners affirm just as decid-
edly that experience has convinced them
that the muzzle is not effective The
experiment was made In 1899. and having
proved failure, II has been thought mad
visahle TO renew it. as their belief is
that whatever rabies among dogs Is
existent in the District IS due primarily
20 the constant incursions OF dogs from
Maryland and Virginia. and TO other un-
licensed dogs, who would not in any
event be muzzled, and that the most
effective manner Of treating the problem
is 70 capture ard destroy the unlicensed
animals.