The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-12-04
ELKS' MEMORIAL SERVICE TO
BE IMPRESSIVE REMINDER OF
BRETHREN IN Great BEYOND
THE DOG AS A CARRIER
OF DISEASE TO STOCK

| The dog in the country is a, useful
and pleasant adjunct to the farm if he
| is properly controlled and cared for
| but when neglected, may readily be-
come a carrier of disease to stock,
in addition to gaining opportunity to
kill sheep and destroy gardens and
| other property. Dog ordinances, as a
general rule, have been. intended
/ chiefly to curb the dogs power of
doing harm by attacking, biting, kill
ing or running sheep or stock The
I part that he plays as a carrier of dis
! ease to animals only recently has been
reco gnized, according to the zoolog-
lists of the Department of Agriculture,
who believe that when this is better
| understood, rural ordinances and
| laws which lessen this danger will
gain the support of the community.
OF the diseases carried to stock by
dogs, the foot-and-mouth disease is
probably of the greatest interest at
this time. In this case the dog acts
as a mechanical carrier of infection
The dog which runs across an infect
ed farm, easily may carry in the dirt
on his feet the virus of this m ost con-
tagious of animaN diseases to other
farms and thus spread the disease to
the neighborfng herds. In infected
localities it is absolutely essential
therefore, to keep all dogs chained
and never allow them off the farm
except on leash. -s
There are, however, many other
t,naladies in the spread of which the
dog takes an active part. In Bulle-
tin $50 of the United States Depart
ment of Agriculture, fNThe Dog as a
Carrier of Parasites and Disease" it
is pointed out that rabies, hydatid.
ringworm, favus, doubIe-pored tape
worm, roundworm, and tongue-worm
are often conveyed to human beings
in this way. It occasionally happens
also that the dog helps fIeas and ticks
in Transmitting bubonic plague or the
deadly spotted fever.
Hydatid, disease is caused by the
presence in the liver, kidneys, brain,
'g1uns, and other organs, of a bladder
worm or larvaI tapeworm. Bladder
worms are often as large as an
orange and may be larger. A dog
which is allowed to feed on carrion
or the raw viscera Of slaughtered an
irnals may .eat all or part of a bladder
worm containing numerous tapeworm
heads. These tapeworm heads de-
ve1op into small segmented tape
worms in the intestines of the. dog.
The tapewOrms in turn develop eggs
which are passed out in the excre-
nent of the dog. They are spread
broadcast on grass and in drinking
water where animals can very well
eat them and thus become infected.
The hog is particularly liable to this
The eggs may get into human food,
and persons who allow dogs to lick
Ftheir hands and face also run the
risk Of getting the eggs of the tape
worm in their systems
Prevention on the farm consists in
so restraining the dog that he can not
get at carrion or raw viscera- Viscera
should be boiled before being fed to
dogs and should never be thrown on
the fields. If not cooked and fed,
ed. buried with lime, or SO disposed
of as not to be accessible to dogs
Proper feeding of the dog is essential,
and the owner who does not feed
dog properly has no right to keep one.
The parasite which causes gid in
sheep somewhat resembles the hyda-
It'd worm. A dog allowed to eat the
brain of a giddy sheep may swallow
this parasite and later distribute the
eggs of the resulting tapeworm over
the pasture. Sheep while grazing
swallow the eggs with the grass they
eat In the case of sheep dogs it is
important to administer vemifuges Of
ten enough to keep them free of these
worms. In the case of sheep measles,
the bladder worm in the meat. typical
of this dease, is swallowed by the dog
and again the tapeworm eggs are pas
sed by the dog to grass or water, and
there are eaten by sheep
OF the external parasites which
dogs carry to animals, feas and the
various kinds of ticks are both trou-
bIesome and dangerous. The remedy
is clear. The owner must keep his
dog clean, not merely for the comfort
and happiness of the dog, but to pre-
vent it from becoming 8, carrier of
isagreeab1e and dangerous vermin.
These reasonable measures, iInpor-
4ant to the stock on the farm, have a
direct connection with the health of
the family. Where ringworm or other
skin diseases break out among the
children, or the worm parasites de-
velop, it is well to determine whether
a dirty or uncared-for dog may not be
carrying infection on his skin OF hair,
or be conveying disease from carrion
directly to the food and persons of his
friends Even if no one is infected
with disease, the folly of allowing a
dog to remain dirty and have the
freedom of a home where personal
cleanliness and hygiene are respected,
is apparent