The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1908-05-14

The following carefully prepared ar
ticle from the Chicago Tribune on the
symptoms Of rabies and the nature OF
the disease should be read by every dog
owner in Kenosha. A knowledge OF the
manner Of detecting the disease IN its
earlier stages is especially important for
Kenosha people just at this time and
a study of the article may be the means
of preventing another mad dog scare.
The Tribune says:
When dog is seen frothing at the
mouth and viciously attacking every
thing in sight it is known that he has
''gone mad" AS a. matter of fact the
animal is then in next to the last stage
Of the disease and has been mad for
some time.
The Importance of knowing the early
symptoms of rabies should be more
widely recognized. No one who keeps
a dog has any excuse for not knowing
what they are. 1t is a duty owned to
the community.
There are two types of the disease,
the dumb and the furious, the latter
type always developing into the former
in its final stage. The first symptom
in the furious type is a change in the
disposition Of the dog. Playful ami
mails may become morose, reserved dogs
may become unusually afectionate.
The animal is nervous and excitable,
but obedient. In day or two the irri-
liability is seen to increase and the dog
may snap if approached suddenly or in
any way startled
The bark then changes to a long
drawn out combination of whine and
howl, and the dog my show tendency
to pick up and swallow straw, sticks, or
other unusual objects. In some cases
there also is tendency to bite parts
of the skin, usually where the animal
was bitten.
The dog is likely. in the early stages
to seek quiet and dark corners. The
restlessness and irritability become
more and more marked, but the dog
also may develop a fixed look as if
gazing at an imaginary object. There
is difficulty in swallowing and saliva
may run from the mouth. If permitted
the dog at this stage is likely to go on a
long journey, fighting with dogs and
attacking animals or men he meets. He
does not bark or make outcry during
this stage, and at it's end, exhausted and
emaciated, enters into the final, or dumb
stage Immediately preceding death.
The dumb type has the same symp-
toms as the furious, except that extreme
is not developed and paraly-
sis sets in earlier It should not be
COMPOUNDED with distemper The furi-
Gus type lasts six to eight days, the
dumb type three days
Some popular fallacies need explod-
ing. The maidstone has no more cura-
tive power than piece of plotting
paper, says DR.. Hart Of the pathological
division Of the bureau of animal indus
try in a recent report to the secretary of
the department Of agriculture from
which the foregoing description of
symptoms was taken. The fear Of water
also has been proved myth. The
dog days are not period of greater
susceptibility except as dogs are likely
to travel more in summer and thus make
themselves more liable to infection.
Finally, the fact that the animal has
red mouth is no evidence that it is not
mad. The blackened, swollen condition
is a symptom only of the final stage.
Extreme anxiety or fear with regard
to hydrophobia ought to be discouraged.
But proper attention and caution should
be general, both for the sake of the dog
and for the protection Of the human be-
lngs who may become his victims.