The Washington times., 1921-06-20
PETS FREE
TOb|TEF0R
8 MONTHS
Health Officers Recommends
tions Ignored in Rescinding
Order II Years Old.

mons ignored IN keecmoing
Order II Years Old.
Ignoring the recommendation OF
! City Health Officer William c. Fow-
: Ter, the district Commissioners have
just issued a regulation that dogs
within the District may go without
! muzzles from October 8 to July 8.
WARNING IS IGNORED.
Or. Fowler last week warned that
1unmuzxled dogs are one Of the great
| est menaces in the District when he
| fled report showing that 2S3 per-
sons were bitten by dogs in the past
! year.
In ordering muzxies removed from
4 dogs for nine months OF the year the
I Com mi ssioners revoked law that has
been effective here for eleven years.
Dr. Fowler urged that the law be
I enforced hssping the muxzls on all dogs
i in tn District twelve months of each
year.
! my observation has been that bad
tempered dogs are just as apt to bite
in November or December as they are
in uly or August" declared DR.. Fowl
or today.
.T recommended that the regula-
ltions providing that the dogs be muz-
zled all the year around remain In
force in view of the following facts,
based on the records of the Health
Department
sTATIsTICs ARE CITED.
"From July 1. 1920. to June 10. 1871.
2S3 persons have been bitten by dogs
which were either muzzled not at
all. or IL muz1led, the same was not
q substantial muzzle securely put on
so as to prevent the dog from snap
ping or biting.
During the same period twenty
two dogs presenting clinical symp-
toms of rabies were sent to the
Bureau of Animal Industry. Depart
ment of Agriculture. for examination
to determine whether or not the
animals were suffering with the
disease at the time OF death. Eight
were declared to be rabid and four
teen negative for rabies
-Four persons were bitten by rabid
positive for rabbies bit two horses
snde two other dogs.
RECOMMENDS MUZzLiNG.
with a view to prevent the spread
OF rabies among dogs, l made the
Recommendations that they be kept
muzzled all year around when al
lowed to run loose"
DR.. Fowler's opinion that dogs are
as apt to bite in the winter months
as they are in the summer Is borne
out by the records of the Health De-
partment-
During the fiscal year of f807-S
rabies was so prevalent in the Dis
trict of Columbia that the Commits
sioners declared an emergency to ex-
ist and authorized the health Depart
ment to put into service additional
pound wagons. In this year ninety
nine dogs were reported as showing
clinical symptoms of rabies, and in
sixty-eight instances the Bureau of
Animal Industry found that rabies
existed.
In view of the prevalence among
dogs of rabies during the early part
of 1910, the District Commissioners
on August 4 issued a regulation re-
curing all dogs in the District Of
Columbia to be muxzled for q period
of IL months, and this regulation
has been renewed from year to yoar
ever since until the Commissioners
issued the new regulation on Satur-
day requiring dogs to be muxzied
for Chree months only.
1--WE feel that the poor bowwows
lead q curtailed life for thre months
and that they should be allowed TO
run around FIRE the other nine
months" declared Commissioner Ru-
dolph today.
COMMISSIONERS AGREE
Commissioner Oyster was of the
same opinion.
MY sister. who is very fond of
dogs, thinks II simply awful that !
they should be muzzled at all" de-
clared Commissioner Oyster. "but
told her that. she would have TO put |
up with the regulations"
The new regulation, IL Is thought |
will bring a storm of protest from |
citizens associations and other civic |
organisations who feel that children
playing on the sidewalks I'm front of
thar homes will not be protected
from the bitcs of bad tempered dogs |
who are allowed to run at large |
without being muzzled.
The Commissioners feel that IL the |
dog owners will read the new regu- |
lations to their pets, they will be so |
grateful that they will not bit any |
one after october Q.