Chapter X: Preface (7)

It appears almost laughable to talk about a rheumatic dog; but, in fact, the animal suffers quite as, or even more acutely than the human patient, and both from the same cause--over-indulgence; still with this difference--the man usually suffers from attachment to the bottle; the dog endures its misery from devotion to roaming under the table. It is not an uncommon sight to behold an animal so fat that it can hardly waddle, without scruple enjoying its five meals a day; which it takes with a bloated mistress, who, according to her own account, is kept alive with the utmost difficulty by eating little and often. The dog, I say, looks for its lady's tray with regularity, besides having its own personal meal, and a bone or two to indulge any odd craving between whiles. These spoiled animals are, for the most part, old and bad tempered. They would bite, but they have no teeth, and yet they will wrathfully mumble the hand they are unable to injure; while the doting mistress, in alarm for her favorite, sits upon the sofa entreating the beast may not be hurt: begging for pity, as though it were for her own life she were pleading. The animal during this is being followed from under table to chair, growling and barking all the time; and showing every disposition, if it had but ability, to do you some grievous bodily harm. At length, after a chase that has nearly caused the fond mistress to faint and you to exhaust all patience, the poor brute is overtaken and caught; but no sooner does your hand touch the miserable beast, than it sets up a howl fit to alarm the neighborhood. On this the hand is moved from the neck to the belly, intending to raise the dog from the ground; but the howl thereon is changed to a positive scream, when the mistress starts up, declaring she can bear no more. On this you desist, to ask a few questions: "The dog has often called out in that manner?" "O yes." "And has done so, no one being near or touching it?" "O yes, when quite alone." Thereupon you request the mistress to call the animal to her; and it waddles across the carpet, every member stiff, its back arched, and its neck set, but the eye fixed upon the person who has been called in.

You get the mistress to take the favorite upon her lap, and request she will oblige you by pinching the skin. "Oh, harder; pray, a little harder, madam!" Nevertheless, all your entreaties cannot move the kind mistress to do that which she fears will pain her pet; whereon you request permission to be permitted to make a trial; and it being granted, you seize the coat, and give the animal one of the hardest pinches of which your fore-finger and thumb, compressed with all your might, are capable. The animal turns its head round and licks your hand, to reward the polite attention, and solicits a continuance of your favors. The skin is thick and insensible. What teeth remain, are covered with tartar, and the breath smells like a pestilence.

The dog is taken home, and an allowance of wholesome rice and gravy placed before it, with one ounce of meat by weight. The flesh is greedily devoured, but the other mess remains untouched. The next day the untouched portion is removed, and fresh supplied; also the same meat as before, which is consumed ere the hand which presented the morsel is retracted, the head being raised to ask for more.

The second day, however, the gravy and rice are eaten, and the meat on the morrow is deficient; gravy and rice for the future constituting the animal's fare. Then, for physic, an embrocation containing one-third of turpentine is used thrice daily, to rub the animal's back, neck, and belly with. Some of the cathartic pills are given over night, with the castor-oil mixture in the morning. Constant purgation is judiciously kept up, and before the first fortnight expires, the dog ceases to howl. Then the pills and mixture are given every other night, and the quantity of turpentine in the embrocation increased to one-half, the other ingredients being of the same amount. This rubbed in as before, evidently annoys the animal, and on that account is used only twice a-day. When all signs of pain are gone, the turpentine is then lowered to one-third, the embrocation being applied only once a-day, because it now gives actual pain. Some liniment, however, is continued, generally making the poor beast howl whenever it is administered. At the expiration of a month, all treatment is abandoned for a week, that the skin may get rid of its scurf, and you may perceive the effect of the treatment you have pursued. If the skin then appears thin, especially on the neck and near the tail, being also sensitive, clean the teeth, and send the dog home with a bottle of cleansing fluid, a tooth-brush, (as before explained,) and strict injunctions with regard to diet.

EMBROCATION (FIRST STRENGTH) FOR RHEUMATISM.

Turpentine }
Laudanum } One part of each.
Soap liniment }
Tincture of capsicums A little.

The subsequent strength is made by increasing the quantity of turpentine.

THE RECTUM.

PILES.--The dog is very subject to these annoyances in all their various forms; for the posterior intestine of the animal seems to be peculiarly susceptible of disease. When enteritis exists the rectum never escapes, but is very frequently the seat of the most virulent malice of the disorder. There are reasons why such should be the case. The dog has but a small apology for what should be a caecum, and the colon I assume to be entirely wanting. The guts, which in the horse are largest, in the canine species are not characterised by any difference of bulk; and however compact may be the food on which the dog subsists, nevertheless a proportionate quantity of its substance must be voided. If the excrement be less than in beasts of herbivorous natures, yet there being but one small receptacle in which it can be retained, the effects upon that receptacle are more concentrated, and the consequences therefore are very much more violent. The dung of the horse and ox is naturally moist, and only during disease is it ever in a contrary condition. Costiveness is nearly always in some degree present in the dog. During health the animal's bowels are never relaxed; but the violent straining it habitually employs to expel its faeces would alone suggest the injury to which the rectum is exposed, even if the inclination to swallow substances which in their passage are likely to cause excoriation did not exist. The grit, dirt, bone, and filth that dogs will, spite of every precaution, manage to obtain, must be frequent sources of piles, which without such instigation would frequently appear. Bones, which people carelessly conclude the dog should consume, it can in some measure digest; but it can do this only partially when in vigorous health. Should the body be delicate, such substances pass through it hardly affected by the powers of assimilation; they become sharp and hard projections when surrounded by, and fixed in the firm mass, which is characteristic of the excrement of the dog. A pointed piece of bone, projecting from an almost solid body, is nearly certain to lacerate the tender and soft membrane over which it would have to be propelled; and though, as I have said, strong and vigorous dogs can eat almost with impunity, and extract considerable nourishment from bones, nevertheless they do not constitute a proper food for these animals at any time. When the system is debilitated, the digestion is always feeble; and, under some conditions of disease, I have taken from the stomachs of dogs after death, in an unaltered state, meat, which had been swallowed two days prior to death. It had been eaten and had been retained for at least forty-eight hours, but all the functions had been paralyzed, and it continued unchanged. If such a thing be possible under any circumstances, then in the fact there is sufficient reason why people should be more cautious in the mode of feeding these creatures; for I have extracted from the rectums of dogs large quantities of trash, such as hardened masses of comminuted bones and of cocoanut, which, because the animal would eat it, the owners thought it to be incapable of doing harm. Nature has not fitted the dog to thrive upon many substances; certain vegetables afford it wholesome nourishment, but a large share of that which is either wantonly or ignorantly given as food, is neither nutritive nor harmless. Whatever injures the digestion, from the disposition of the rectum to sympathise in all disorders of the great mucous track, is likely to induce piles; and the anus of the animal is often as indicative of the general state of the body as is the tongue of man.

In perfect health the anus should be small, firm, close, and entirely retracted; especially should it be cleanly. Any soil upon the part, or any excrement adhering to the hair about its margin, is indicative of derangement. If the fundament protrudes, so that it can be grasped by the finger and thumb, or if it presents a sensible projection to the touch, the digestion is not sound. The indication is still worse when the orifice is enlarged--the edges not being inflamed, which indeed they seldom are, but swollen, loose, coarse, creased, and unsightly. This state will not continue long before cracks and ulcers may be detected upon the borders of the opening, which ultimately is constantly moistened by an unctuous and peculiarly fetid discharge. If the lips of the orifice be gently pulled aside, the more inward portion of the membrane will frequently be seen of a bright scarlet color, and wet with a watery fluid, but the anus is rarely of so deep a tint, the hue being, even in aggravated cases, only a pale reddish brown.

To correct this state of disease, the first thing to be attended to is the food. The diet must be strictly regulated; it should not be too much reduced either in quantity or quality, for dogs in this state are generally old, and always weakly. Enough of good food should be allowed, but nothing more ought to be given. Meat, lean, and from a healthy animal, as constituting the lightest and most nourishing diet, will here be best, and from two ounces to two pounds may be divided into four meals, and given in the course of the day. Plenty of exercise and a daily cold bath will likewise be beneficial.

Medicine must be employed for two purposes; the first, to alleviate the pain and act locally on the disease; and the second, to amend the general health, checking the constitutional disposition to be affected. As a local application, Mr. Blaine recommends an ointment; which I object to, because I have found it aggravate the suffering without conferring any compensating benefit. Astringents, such as the acetate of lead, are not curative; but the following ointment has done so much good in these cases that I can most confidently submit it to the public:--

Camphor Two drachms.
Strong mercurial ointment One drachm.
Elder ointment One ounce.

The only addition I make to the above is occasionally a drachm of powdered opium. This is smeared over the exterior of, and also inserted up, the rectum, thrice in the day. A piece of wood nicely rounded, or a penholder if the animal be small, answers very well to introduce the salve into the gut; and of course it should be done with every consideration, for the pain it will at first produce. The resistance is often strong, and the cries violent; for in some cases the rectum is so sensitive that the mere lifting of the tail cannot be silently endured. The poor dog seems in constant agony; for I have known the exclamations to be provoked by simply looking at the part, and the animal evidently shrieked from the idea of it being touched. All possible tenderness, therefore, is required; and the dog should be very firmly held, to prevent its contortions from adding to its anguish. When the ointment is regularly and properly employed, the relief is generally speedy; and after the third day the dog, which had been so energetically resistful, often submits to be dressed without a murmur. The cessation of the howling will indicate the progress of the cure, but the application should be used for some days after the animal becomes silent. If much stench is present, the fundament may be at each dressing moistened with very dilute solution of the chloride of zinc, and a small quantity may be administered as an injection, after the grease has been introduced.

The constitutional remedies must be regulated by the symptoms, and nothing absolute can be said on this subject; but in the great majority of instances tonics will be required. Purgatives are not often needed, but a day's feed of liver once or twice a week will do no harm. Should it not have the desired effect, a little olive oil may be given; but nothing stronger ought to be risked, and above all, no preparation of mercury--which, in the dog, specially acts upon the rectum--ought on any account to be permitted.

Piles, if not attended to, become causes of further disease, which may in some cases prove fatal, though in the larger number of instances they are far more distressing than dangerous.

A sero-sanguineous abscess, that is, a tumor consisting of a single sac or numerous small bladders, containing a thin and bloody fluid, is by no means a rare accompaniment of long-continued piles. These mostly appear rather to one side of, and more below than above, the opening, the verge of which they always involve. They occasion little pain, and often grow to a comparatively enormous size; when they may burst and leave a ragged ulcer, which has little disposition to heal, and is not improved by the dog's drawing it along the ground.

When these are observed, the knife should not be too quickly resorted to. The abscess should be allowed to progress until it is fully matured, the dog being in the meantime treated for simple piles. When the tumor perceptibly fluctuates, it should be freely opened, the incision being made along its entire length. This is best done with one of Liston's knives, which should be thrust fairly through the swelling, entering at the top and coming out at the lowest part, when with one movement of the wrist the substance is divided. The operation thus performed is much quicker, less painful, and more safe than it can possibly be rendered if the tumor be punctured and slit up with repeated thrusts of an ordinary lancet. I have frequently opened these sacs without the animal uttering even a moan, and mercy is wisdom where surgery is employed. Dogs will not bear torture, and soon become blindly infuriated if subjected to pain. The animal is naturally so sensitive and excitable that the brutality or suffering a horse can sustain, these animals would perish under. He, therefore, who undertakes to treat the diseases of the canine race, if the amiable qualities of the brute or his own feelings have no influence, will in the success of his practice discover ample reason for the exercise of a little humanity.

After the sac is opened a portion of lint should be used, to render the part perfectly dry, which may then be lightly pencilled over with lunar caustic, or moistened with some caustic solution. Fomentations of warm water to keep the wound free from dirt, and with no other object, are all that subsequently will be required.

Tumors of a solid nature also form about the anus, and are likewise consequent upon neglected piles. These generally appear at the root of the tail superior to the opening. They feel hard; are glistening; not very tender; but highly vascular, and in some cases pulsate strongly. The dog is generally loaded with fat, perhaps slightly mangy; nearly always old, gross and weak. The quantity of blood that at various intervals is lost from this tumor, which at length ulcerates and bleeds at the slightest touch, or without any apparent cause, is often very great; but it does not, save in the very latest stage, induce obvious emaciation. The health is not good, of course, but to the casual observer the disease does not appear to affect the system. The spirits under excitement are, to all appearances, undiminished, and the appetite is in these cases ravenous. If, however, the dog had to do work, the truth would be soon discovered. After a short space the strength would fail, and no correction could keep the poor animal to its duty.

The treatment must commence with constitutional remedies, if the state of the part permits of the requisite delay. The digestion should be amended, and the piles, which are certain to be present, attended to. After a fortnight, more or less, has been devoted to such measures, a strong ligature should be tied as tight up as possible around the base of the growth, and a fresh one should be applied every second day. There must be no forbearance in the application of the ligature, but the degree of tension must be regulated only by the strength of the operator. This is far more severe than the removal would be if the knife were employed, but I have not seen a case which I dared venture to excise. I do not like the ligature; it is long and torturing in its action; but here there will be no chance, for the vessels are too numerous and large to admit of the speedier process being resorted to. Where it is possible, it is well, however, to cut through the skin before applying the cord; for the operation is expedited considerably, and an important deduction made from the animal's agony.

When the tumor drops off, the surface may be sprinkled thrice a day with the following powder:--

Camphor in powder,
Opium in powder,
Grey powder,
Powdered galls, of each an equal quantity.

Or a little of the ointment recommended for piles may be smeared upon the wound in lieu of the above. An unguent is perhaps to be preferred, as giving better protection to the sore, over which the faeces must pass, and also as being more grateful to the feelings of the patient. Powder and ointment may be changed and varied according to the judgment of the attendant: thus, to render the last more stimulating, I mix creosote with it occasionally; or to give it an astringent property I add a portion of galls, catechu, or kino; but these I never pass into the rectum. Astringents introduced upon the sore and ulcerated surface of the intestine of course render it harsh, dry, and corrugated; and as during the exercise of its function the part is necessarily dilated, the animal is, by the pain produced from the stretching of the constringed membrane, indisposed for the performance of that act, on the regular discharge of which its health in no little measure depends. Astringents, moreover, heat and irritate the part; and the sensations induced make the dog draw its anus along the ground, thereby adding greatly to the evil it is the intention of the application to remove. Therefore prudence will approve what humanity suggests; and those who in kindly feeling can discover no motive, will in the colder reason find every inducement for the adoption of the gentler measure.

Protrusion of the rectum is also sometimes a consequence of gross feeding, starting up piles in the first instance, and then, from more intense digestive derangement, causing purgation, accompanied with violent straining. The tone of the intestine is destroyed. It becomes lax, and its muscular power is lost. The gut is at first only a little exposed during the act, and when that is over, it is retracted; but after some time, the limit of which is uncertain, it remains constantly protruded. It is not so violently inflamed as might be expected, but it soon gets dry and harsh; cracks appear upon its surface; and the pressure of the muscle which closes the anus preventing the free circulation of the blood, renders it black from congestion.

If taken early, the treatment recommended for piles will generally effect a cure; but if nothing be done in the first instance, the disease when established is apt to prove intractable. The intestine should be sopped with cold water until every particle of dirt is removed. It should then be dried with a soft cloth, and afterwards returned. There is never much difficulty in replacing the gut; but there is always considerable difficulty to get it to be retained. So soon as it is restored to its situation, a human stomach pump should be inserted up the rectum, and a full stream of the coldest spring water should be thrown into the bowel for ten minutes. The fluid will be returned so fast as it enters, and it must be allowed to do so, the fingers of one hand being employed against the anus to prevent the disordered rectum being ejected with the water. Cold injection in less quantity must be administered several times during the day, and with each a little of the tincture of galls, or of nux vomica, in the proportion of a drachm to a pint, may be united. The ointment recommended for piles may also be employed, but without opium, for no application of a sedative nature must be used. The constitutional measures will consist of tonics into which nux vomica enters. The food must be light and nourishing, and purgatives on no account must be administered. Cold will do good by invigorating the system, and should always be recommended. Some persons, unable by sedatives and purgatives, which are injurious, to obtain relief, have gone so far as to cut off the projecting bowel, and they have thereby certainly ended the case; for the dog dies whenever this is done. I remember at the Veterinary College, Professor Simonds killed a fine animal by attempting this operation; for he took a heated spatula to remove the part, and carried the incision so high up that he opened the abdomen, and the bowels protruded from the anus. Amputation of any portion of the rectum is not to be thought of; but an operation of a less heroic description will sometimes accomplish what the previous measures failed to effect. With a knife, having not too sharp but a coarse edge, a circular portion of the exposed lining membrane, of a width proportioned to the size of the animal, may be scraped off, so as to induce a cicatrix; or, if the dog be very tractable, and the operator skilful, a piece of it may partially be dissected off; but the knife, when employed in the last method, is apt to cause alarming hemorrhage. When this is done, as the wound heals the edges come together, and the gut is so far shortened as to be thereby retracted. There is, however, some danger of stricture being afterwards established; wherefore this operation, however satisfactory it may seem to be in the first instance, is not so certain in the benefit of its results that it should be resorted to, save in extreme cases when every other means have failed, and the choice at last hangs between relief and destruction.

Another affection of the part, to which Scotch terriers of great size are particularly subject, begins with an enlargement below the anus, extending either quite or almost to the testicles; for males are more frequently attacked by this form of disease than females. The dog is generally old, and a favorite with an indulgent mistress, having much to eat, and little or no work to do. The swelling is soft and attended with no pain. On pressure and on percussion it is ascertained to hold fluid, and in fact it arises from dropsy of the perinaeum. The health may appear to be good, but on examination debility will be found to be present. The anus also protrudes, and the orifice is thickened; while, possibly, a marked tendency to piles may at the same time be displayed. Should no attention be paid to the case, the swelling will continue without sensibly enlarging; but after a period, hard substances may with the fingers be detected beneath it. These hard bodies are faeces, which accumulate within the rectum, and often in so great a quantity as to seriously inconvenience the animal, rendering it dull and indisposed to feed.

Before attempting to direct the treatment for these cases, it is necessary the nature of the affection should be fully explained. The enlargement, to which attention is at first solely directed, is always of secondary consideration. The dropsy is merely a symptom indicative of the loss of tone of the adjacent parts, of which the rectum is by far the most important. If this circumstance be not observed, but the swelling be treated as if it was all the practitioner had to contend with, he will in the end learn his mistake. The intestine loses its tonicity; it no longer has power to contract upon or to expel its contents; it becomes paralysed, and the dung consequently accumulates within it, distending it, and adding to its weakness by constant tension. The rectum at length retains no ability to perform its function; but the sphincter of the anus, or the circular muscle that closes the opening, appears to gain the strength of which the intestine is deprived. It contracts, and thus shuts up the faeces which the rectum cannot make an effort to dislodge; and in this circumstance the physiologist sees evidence of the sources whence the different parts derive their contractility. The rectum, like the other intestines, gains its vital power from the sympathetic nerve, or that nerve of nutrition and secretion which presides over organic life. The muscle of the anus, on the other hand, is influenced by nerves derived from the spinal column; and thus, understanding the two parts obtain their motor power from different sources, the reader will comprehend how one can be incapable of motion while the other is unaffected, or rather excited; for the presence of the retained dung acts as an irritant, and provokes the anus to contract with more than usual vigor.

If nothing be done to restore the balance of power, the rectum speedily is so much distended that its walls become attenuated, and then a cure is hopeless; a sac is formed, and the gut is not only much stretched or enlarged, but it is also, by the excessive bulk of its contents, forced from its natural position, being carried either to one side or the other, but always to where the dropsy is most conspicuous.

In such cases, when the dropsy is first observed, our care must be to invigorate the system. Small doses of nux vomica, with iron, gentian and capsicums, made into a pill, will generally do this, and the following form may be employed:--

Nux vomica, in powder Five grains to a scruple.
Capsicums, in powder Ten grains to two scruples.
Sulphate of iron One to four scruples.
Extract of gentian Two drachms to one ounce.
Cinchona powder A sufficiency.

Make into twenty pills, and give four in the course of the day. The liver is too often at this time unhealthy, and to correct it the subjoined may be administered:--

Iodide of potassium One drachm.
Liquor potassae Two ounces.
Simple syrup Five ounces.
Water A pint.

Dose, from a tea-spoon to a table-spoonful three times a day. The food should be chiefly vegetables, or at all events only so much meat should be allowed as is required to induce the dog to eat the mess of boiled rice. Exercise is also essential, and a daily cold bath with a brisk run afterwards, will be of service. The dog will likewise be benefited if his skin be well brushed every morning; and perhaps it is hardly necessary to state that any symptoms denoting mange or skin disease, canker, &c., should be specially counteracted.

Hitherto, however, nothing has been said about any treatment of the part which is the immediate seat of the disease. If the fluid poured into the perinaeum be excessive, the part must be laid freely open by two or three incisions being made along the entire length of the swelling. After this has been done, the liquid will not escape as from an abscess; for being held within the cells of the membrane that lies immediately under the skin, comparatively little of it is released from the knife. A fine pair of scissors will be required to snip the separate bags or bladders; but that operation must be performed with caution, else injury may possibly be done. The business being concluded, let the parts be afterwards dressed with the tincture of iodine, or a tincture of the iodide of potassium, of the strength of a drachm to the ounce of proof spirit; this being preferable to water for a solution in these cases. Into the rectum also injections should be thrown at least three times a day, and all of these ought to be of a tonic and stimulating kind, being used perfectly cold. Either of the following may be administered:--

1.

Tincture of cantharides One drachm.
Camphor mixture One pint.

2.

Tincture of nux vomica One drachm.
Tincture of tolu One drachm.
Water One pint.

3.

Tincture of cubebs One drachm.
Liquor potassae One drachm.
Camphor mixture One pint.

4.

Solution of nitrate of silver One drachm.
Distilled water One pint.

Any of the above may be employed, from a tablespoonful to a common wine-glass full being used for a dose. The pile ointment will likewise be beneficial, by facilitating the passage of the faeces, allaying local irritability, and correcting that tendency to piles which is generally attendant upon, if not the original cause of the affection.

From what has been described, the reader will have seen that the diseases of the dog's rectum are neither few nor insignificant. Fistula in ano is said to be often beheld; but I have never seen a case in which it assumed in the dog that serious form which characterises it in man. In the canine race I have mostly let it alone, and hitherto I have had no reason to repent my forbearance. Blaine and Youatt both speak of the affection, and give directions for its treatment by operation. The most active remedy I have found it necessary to resort to has been an astringent or mildly caustic injection; the solution of the chloride of zinc I prefer to every other, but the sulphates are also not to be despised. Injections, when not designed to be immediately operative, or meant to distend the gut and to act through being ejected, are best given by means of the India-rubber bladder, which allows the fluid to be more gently and silently thrown up. The less noise or force attending the operation the less likely is the animal to be alarmed or excited, and the probability is the enema will be retained. Small quantities are to be administered when the fluid is wished to remain; and by attracting the attention of the dog at the time, and amusing him after the business is finished, the object in view is considerably favored. The administration of an injection is in the first instance almost certain to alarm the animal, who can neither understand nor passively sanction the strange liberty the operation implies. A little soothing, however, will restore his confidence, and he who has gained the trust of a dog, may subsequently do as he pleases with the body of the generous and confiding beast.

NERVOUS DISEASES.--FITS IN THE DOG.

Youatt speaks of fits as particularly fatal to the dog, saying they "kill more than all the other diseases put together." The experience of this esteemed authority is in direct variance with my own--save from distemper. When the fits occur in that disease they are mostly fatal, being the wind-up of all the many evils which the malady in its most intense and malignant form can accumulate on one doomed life--I have not otherwise found them especially troublesome.

Fainting fits require little attention; if the dog be left quiet, it will in due time often recover without medicine.

Puerperal, or rather pupping fits, are treated of in their fitting place, and, if properly administered to, are by no means dangerous.

Fits _par excellence_ are witnessed when a dog is taking a long walk with its master; the animal at first lingers behind, or gets a long distance before the proprietor, who notices the fact, but contents himself with whistling and walking forward. The dog does not obey the mandate; it is standing still as if stupefied; suddenly it emits a strange, loud, guttural sound, and then falls upon its side, continuing to cry, but more feebly and more naturally; its faeces and urine may be discharged involuntarily; it will bite any one who, during the existence of the attack, incautiously attempts to lay hold of it; its limbs, at first stretched rigidly out, are ultimately, with returning volition, put into violent motion; the eye is protruded and foam covers the mouth. When the convulsion has subsided, the dog raises its head and stares about; after which it would, if left alone, start at its utmost pace, and run heaven only knows where. Should idle men and foolish boys behold a dog wildly run onward after having come out of a fit, and raise the cry of "mad dog," the fate of the poor animal is then sealed, as fear is devoid of discrimination or pity. Half the dogs killed as rabid are those in this condition, scampering under the impulse of returning sensation.

The first thing any person is to do when out with a dog which has a fit is to secure the animal, and to prevent its running away when the fit has passed. The second thing is stubbornly to close his ears to the crowd who are certain to surround him. No matter what advice may be given, he is to do nothing but get the animal home as quickly as possible. He is neither to lance the mouth, slit the ear, nor cut a piece of the tail off. He is on no account to administer a full dose of salt and water, a lump of tobacco, or to throw the animal into an adjacent pond; and of all things he is to allow no man more acquainted with dogs than the other spectators to bleed the creature. Any offer to rub the nose with syrup of buckthorn, however confidently he who makes the proposal may recommend that energetic mode of treatment, is to be unhesitatingly declined. The friendly desire of any one who may express his willingness to ram a secret and choice specific down the prostrate animal's throat, must be refused with firmness. The attendant must however take advantage of the time the dog is on the ground to pass a handkerchief round the neck or through the collar. This done, he must wait patiently till the dog gets upon its legs, when he must, amidst its struggles to be free, caress it and call it kindly by its name. That part of the business over, he must take the creature in his arms, and seeking the nearest cab-stand, carry the poor animal with all expedition homeward.

I have known a dog to have a succession of fits which lasted more than an hour; and yet this creature, by the treatment I shall presently describe, was the next day upon its legs, and to all appearance as well as ever.

The dog being brought home, if the fit continues, give nothing by the mouth; because the animal being insensible cannot swallow; and the breathing being laborious, anything administered is more likely to be drawn on to the lungs, and so to suffocate the creature, than to pass into the stomach, and thus (if it have any curative properties) effect a restoration. On this account the very best physic ever invented would be dangerous, and should be withheld. Enemas are the only things in these cases to be depended upon; and the best the author is at present acquainted with, is made of 1, 2, or 3 drachms of sulphuric aether, and 2, 4, or 6 scruples of laudanum to 11/2, 3, or 41/2 ounces of the very coldest spring water that can be obtained. The above injection having been administered, the dog is left entirely by itself, and, as far as possible, in absolute silence for an hour; at the expiration of which time, in whatever state the animal may be in, another dose is given in the same manner as before.

There is no limitation to the quantity which may be administered; the only sign the attendant accepts that the creature has received sufficient is the sight of it coiled up as though it were composing itself to sleep, when he gives one more injection, and leaves the dog to recover at leisure, but in perfect stillness.

So valuable is this medicine in cases of fits that I have known it to cut them short as with a knife; literally to let the first part of the fit be heard, but to check the attack before the last and worst portion could put in an appearance.

Armed with this medicine I fearlessly face the disorder, which other veterinary surgeons dread; and, whether it be my good luck or no, cannot be decided, but I have not, under its operation, lost a single case.

Fits in my opinion are, in the great majority of cases, to be traced to the quantity or quality of the food consumed. In proof of this, dogs have had fits whenever flesh has been given; which ceased on this kind of diet being withheld, and medicine calculated to restore the tone of the stomach being ordered. In every case of fits, when the attack is over, I attend to the stomach; at the same time, ordering that the dog is to go short distances, and never to leave the house without a chain and collar.

The object of this last injunction is to prevent the animal running about, and thus heating itself, or causing a flow of blood to the brain.

It is to be lamented that the crowd of people prevents an injection being administered out of doors in London: but the same objection does not apply to the country; and as the effects of the aether are more marked in proportion as it is quickly exhibited, persons in the country, when, during the hot months of summer, they take dogs for an airing, should be provided with the materials necessary to render fits, if not harmless, at all events less fatal.

NERVOUS SYSTEM.--RABIES.

The dog is naturally the most nervous of all the dumb tribe. His intense affection, his ever-watchful jealousy, his method of attack, the blindness of his rage, and his insensibility to consequences, all bespeak a creature whose nervous system is developed in the highest possible degree. I myself once had a little cur, who, as I sat reading, would enter the apartment, jump upon my knee, uttering a low whimper all the time, creep along my waistcoat, rub his little body against my head and face, lick the hand lifted up to return his caresses, and then scamper off, and perhaps not come near me again the whole of that afternoon. What was this but an affectionate impulse seeking a nervous development? The way to manage an animal of this description is, to respect his evident excitability. The instant a dog appears to be getting excited, there should be a sign given, commanding a stop to be put to all further proceedings. If the respect of the animal be habitual, the person who mildly enforces it may enter a room, where the same dog is in a rabid state, and come forth unscathed.

I have hitherto been much among dogs, and, nevertheless, have almost escaped being bitten. The reason is, that I understand and respect the innate nervousness of the animal. When I go into a room, if there be a dog there and he growl, I speak kindly to him, and then seat myself, and bestow on him none of my attention for some time. My request to his master or mistress is, that he or she will not check or seek to stop the symptom of his wrath; but allow him to vent his rage until he is ashamed of it, and from a feeling of remorse is silent. When this takes place, and a sufficient time has passed to confirm him in the new mood into which he has recently entered, I approach him with my hand extended and open; this I bring near to him by degrees, avoiding all sudden movements or anything that might provoke his natural disposition. Generally he crouches, then I speak to him in tones of encouragement. If he display a return of his warlike propensity, I still bring the hand nearer and nearer to him, telling him to bite it if he pleases, if he is not ashamed to injure that which means to do him good. Then, perhaps, he will make a snap at my extended hand, which is not upon this withdrawn, or the jaws would close with nervous violence, but allowed to remain, and the teeth are felt to touch the skin without wounding it. I allow him to hold the hand for any length of time he pleases, telling him "he would lose his character if he were to harm it. That he is a courageous dog, and means no hurt; he would be ashamed to bite." And with this kind of speech, which the animal may not literally understand, but the sense and purpose of which it nevertheless appears to comprehend, I seldom fail of getting my hand safe and sound from the creature's jaws. After that I may pat him, for an intimacy has begun. He allows me to drag him forth, take him on my knees, and permits me any liberty I please to take. I do not attribute my escape to any charm that I possess; but account for it simply by my knowing and respecting the natural temperament of the beast with which I have to interfere.

This natural respect for the feelings of a most affectionate creature, with such a power of observation as will enable the individual to recognise the presence of lamentable sickness in an animal that has with truth been called "the companion of the home," shall at all times enable the uneducated in such matters to recognise a mad dog, and, unless luck be dead against the individual, save him from being bitten.

It is no pleasure to a dog to go mad. Quite the reverse. Dreadful as hydrophobia may be to the human being, rabies is worse to the dog. It makes its approach more gradually. It lasts longer, and it is more intense while it endures. The dog that is going mad, feels unwell for a long time prior to the full development of the disease. He is very ill, but he does not know what ails him. He feels nasty; dissatisfied with everything; vexed without a reason; and, greatly against his better nature, very snappish. Feeling thus, he longs to avoid all annoyance by being alone. This makes him seem strange to those who are most accustomed to him.

The sensation induces him to seek solitude. But there is another reason which decides his choice of a resting-place. The light inflicts upon him intense agony. The sun is to him an instrument of torture, which he therefore studies to avoid, for his brain aches and feels as it were a trembling jelly. This induces the poor brute to find out the holes and corners where he is least likely to be noticed, and into which the light is unable to enter. In solitude and darkness he passes his day. If his retreat be discovered and the master's voice bids him to come forth, the affectionate creature's countenance brightens; his tail beats the ground, and he leaves his hiding-place, anxious to obey the loved authority; but before he has gone half the distance, a kind of sensation comes over him, which produces an instantaneous change in his whole appearance. He seems to say to himself, "Why cannot you let me alone? Go away. Do go away. You trouble, you pain me." And thereon he suddenly turns tail and darts back into his dark corner. If let alone, there he will remain; perhaps frothing a little at the mouth, and drinking a great deal of water, but not issuing from his hiding-place to seek after food. His appetites are altered, hair, straw, dirt, filth, excrement, rags, tin shavings, stones, the most noisome and unnatural substances are then the delicacies for which the poor dog, changed by disease, longs, and swallows, in hope to ease a burning stomach. So anxious is he for liquids, and so depraved are his appetites, that no sooner has he passed a little urine than he turns round to lick it up. He is now altogether changed. Still he does not desire to bite mankind; he rather endeavors to avoid society; he takes long journeys of thirty or forty miles in extent, and lengthened by all kinds of accidents, to vent his restless desire for motion. When on these journeys he does not walk. This would be too formal and measured a pace for an animal whose whole frame quivers with excitement. He does not run. That would be too great an exertion for an animal whose body is the abode of a deadly sickness. He proceeds in a slouching manner, in a kind of trot; a movement neither run nor walk, and his aspect is dejected. His eyes do not glare and stare, but they are dull and retracted. His appearance is very characteristic, and if once seen, can never afterwards be mistaken. In this state he will travel the most dusty roads, his tongue hanging dry from his open mouth, from which, however, there drops no foam. His course is not straight. How could it be, since it is doubtful whether at this period he sees at all? His desire is to journey unnoticed. If no one notices him, he gladly passes by them. He is very ill. He cannot stay to bite. If, nevertheless, anything oppose his progress, he will, as if by impulse, snap--as a man in a similar state might strike, and tell the person "to get out of the way." He may take his road across a field in which there are a flock of sheep. Could these creatures only make room for him, and stand motionless, the dog would pass on and leave them behind uninjured. But they begin, to run, and at the sound, the dog pricks up. His entire aspect changes. Rage takes possession of him. What made that noise? He pursues it with all the energy of madness. He flies at one, then at another. He does not mangle, nor is his bite, simply considered, terrible. He cannot pause to tear the creature he has caught. He snaps and then rushes onward, till, fairly exhausted and unable longer to follow, he sinks down, and the sheep pass forward to be no more molested. He may have bitten twenty or thirty in his mad onslaught; and would have worried more had his strength lasted, for the furor of madness then had possession of him.

He may be slain while on these excursions; but if he escapes he returns home and seeks the darkness and quiet of his former abode. His thirst increases; but with it comes the swelling of the throat. He will plunge his head into water, so ravenous is his desire; but not a drop of the liquid can he swallow, though its surface is covered with bubbles in consequence of the efforts he makes to gulp the smallest quantity. The throat is enlarged to that extent which will permit nothing to pass. He is the victim of the most horrible inflammation of the stomach, and the most intense inflammation of the bowels. His state of suffering is most pitiable. He has lost all self-reliance; even feeling is gone. He flies at and pulls to pieces anything that is within his reach. One animal in this condition, being confined near a fire, flew at the burning mass, pulled out the live coals, and in his fury scrunched them. He emits the most hideous cries. The noise he makes is incessant and peculiar. It begins as a bark, which sound, being too torturing to be continued, is quickly changed to a howl, which is suddenly cut short in the middle; and so the poor wretch at last falls, fairly worn out by a terrible disease.

But now comes the question, How do we know that rabies is a nervous disease? Why, the whole course of the disorder declares it, or if that be not thought sufficient, the dog at one stage very distinctly announces it. He may be sitting down, an unwilling listener to his master's voice, when the brute's eyes will wander; and at length fix themselves upon some object at a distance, which it will keep watching, crouching down as the horror seems, to the excited brain of the poor beast, to draw near; till, having apparently come within bounds, the hateful presence is no longer to be endured, and the vision-haunted animal dashes forward with a howl of execration, as if to seize and tear the terrible spectre. This action being performed, and the dog biting the air, he stands for a moment, shivers, looks stupidly around him, and slinks back. What is this but a power of seeing visions depending on a disordered brain, or positive delirium exemplified by a dumb creature? And the same piece of pantomime the dog may go through fifty times in an hour. No disappointment can teach him; and experience is lost upon the animal that in his sane state was so quick to learn.

Youatt mentions as a symptom, that the dog in all he does is instigated by the spirit of mischief or of malice,--that he desires to do injury, and is prompted by malice in all his acts. This, to an outward observer, will appear a correct judgment; but it is essentially wrong. It is the conclusion reached by one who judges mainly of exteriors; it can be true only to those who are willing to look no deeper than the surface. There can be no malice in a raging fever, which vents itself on every object within its reach, animate or inanimate. Mischief is too playful a term to apply to a consuming wrath that ultimately destroys the life. All pain is lost; as a consequence all fear is gone. The poor beast is urged by some power too mighty for its control, which lashes it on beyond all earthly restraint to pull to pieces, to gnaw, and to attempt to eat every object it can get at; but how far it is urged by malice or mischief, the following anecdote will serve to show:--

A butcher had a large bull mastiff of which he was very fond; but, observing something very strange in his pet's behavior, he came to consult the author about the dog. The man was told to bring the animal for inspection early the same evening. This order was given from no suspicion of the truth, for the owner's description was too confused to be rightly interpreted. The animal was accordingly brought punctual to time, led through the streets by a silk handkerchief carelessly tied round the neck of the beast. The author being at the exact moment of the dog's arrival, fortunately, engaged, the butcher had to wait some few minutes, during which time the writer's eyes were kept upon the huge creature. It was remarked to look round in a strange manner. The eye was retracted and the nose dry. It was at length seen to put its mouth against its master's boot, continue in that position uttering a strange noise, and to move its jaws as if biting at some substance. The butcher all this time stood perfectly still, allowing his favorite to follow the bent of its inclination without rebuke or opposition. When the mastiff's head was removed, the boot it had apparently been biting was perfectly dry. The author observed nothing more than this; but, afraid to confess his dread, lest the cry of mad dog should be raised, and do more, much more, harm than good, he called to the butcher, telling him he was going abroad shortly, and would call upon him. In the mean time, he was to take the dog home, place it where it could do no injury, and in a place whence there was no possibility of escape. The man touched his hair and retired.