"It is an early symptom in the dog, and it can scarcely be mistaken in him. When he is fighting with his paws at the corners of his mouth, let no one suppose that a bone is sticking between the poor fellow's teeth; nor should any useless and dangerous effort be made to relieve him. If all this uneasiness arose from a bone in the mouth, the mouth would continue permanently open, instead of closing when the animal for a moment discontinues his efforts. If after a while he loses his balance and tumbles over, there can be no longer any mistake. It is the saliva becoming more and more glutinous, irritating the fauces and threatening suffocation.

"To this naturally and rapidly succeeds an insatiable thirst. The dog that still has full power over the muscles of his jaws continues to lap. He knows not when to cease, while the poor fellow labouring under the dumb madness, presently to be described, and whose jaw and tongue are paralysed, plunges his muzzle into the water-dish to his very eyes, in order that he may get one drop of water into the back part of his mouth to moisten and to cool his dry and parched fauces. Hence, instead of this disease being always characterised by the dread of water in the dog, it is marked by a thirst often perfectly unquenchable. Twenty years ago, this assertion would have been peremptorily denied. Even at the present day we occasionally meet with those who ought to know better, and who will not believe that the dog which fairly, or perhaps eagerly, drinks, can be rabid."—Youatt, pp. 135-6.

From my own experience I can fully confirm the above account, having seen seven cases of genuine rabies, in all of which thirst

was present in a greater or less degree; and in five of which the disease was communicated to other dogs.

If the rabid dog is not molested he will seldom attack any living object; but the slightest obstruction in his path is sufficient to rouse his fury, and he then bites savagely, and in the most unreasoning manner, so as to be wholly uncontrollable by fear of the consequences. The gait, when at liberty, is a long trot, without any deviation from the straight line, except what is compulsory from the nature of the surrounding objects.

The average time of the occurrence of rabies after the bite is, in the dog, from three weeks to six months, or possibly even longer; so that a suspected case requires careful watching for at least that time; but, after three months, the animal suspected to have been bitten may be considered tolerably safe.

The duration of the disease is about four or five days, but I have myself known a case fatal in forty-eight hours.

As there has never yet been discovered a cure for rabies, so the best plan in all cases is to destroy the dog as soon as he is clearly shown to exhibit the disease. In the interval he should be secluded in a safe place, where he cannot possibly get at any living

animal.

TETANUS.

Resembling rabies in some degree, tetanus differs from it in the absence of any affection of the brain, the senses remaining perfect to the last. It is not common with the dog; and, when it does manifest itself, is generally produced by a severe injury, and shows itself in the form known as "lock-jaw." Hence in France it is known as mal de cerf, from its supervening upon wounds from the horns of that animal. It consists in spasmodic rigidity of certain muscles, alternately with relaxation; but the stiffness continuing for some length of time, and not appearing and disappearing as quickly as in cramp. If the tetanic spasm affects the muscles of the jaw, the state is called "lock-jaw." When it seizes on all the muscles of the back, the body is drawn into a bow, the head being brought nearly close to the tail. Sometimes the contraction is of one side only, and at others of the muscles of the belly, producing a bow in the opposite direction to that alluded to above. These various conditions exactly resemble the contractions produced by the poison of strychnine; so that when they occur, as the disease is extremely rare, it is fair to suspect that poison has been used. Nevertheless, it should be known that they were witnessed long before this poison was in use; and, therefore, they may arise independently of it.

The successful treatment of tetanus is a hopeless affair, if the case is clearly established. Purgatives and bleeding may be tried, followed by chloroform, which will always relieve the spasm for the

time; but, as it returns soon after the withdrawal of the remedy, no good is likely to accrue from its use. Excepting in the case of very valuable or highly valued dogs,' I should never advise any remedies being tried, and the most humane course is at once to put the poor animal out of his misery, the spasms being evidently of a most painful nature.

TURNSIDE

Is more frequently seen in the dog than tetanus; but, nevertheless, is by no means common. It consists in some obscure affection of the brain, resembling the "gid" of sheep, and most probably produced from the same cause, namely, from the presence of a hydatid. (See WORMS, Chap. V.) The dog has no fit, but keeps continually turning round and round, and at last dies worn out. It is most commonly met with in high-bred puppies, whose constitutions are of great delicacy; and I have known a whole litter carried off, one after the other, in this way. As far as I know, no remedy is of any avail; but bleeding, blistering, and purgatives are said to have restored some few cases. The seton, also, has been recommended, and is, in my opinion, more likely than any other remedy to produce a cure, taking care to keep the strength supported against the lowering effects of this remedy.

INFLAMMATIONS OF THE EYE.

Ophthalmia, or simple inflammation of the eyes, is

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very common in the dog, especially in the latter stages of distemper, when the condition of this organ is often apparently hopeless; though a little patience will show that no mischief eventually occurs. more than one occasion I have saved puppies from a watery grave, whose eyes were said to be hopelessly gone; but without any remedy being applied locally, and simply by attending to the general health, the organ has recovered its transparency, and the sight has become as good as ever. The appearance of this form, as seen in distemper, consists in an unnatural bluish redness of "the white" of the eye, together with a film over the transparent part, which may or may not show red vessels spreading over it. There is great intolerance of light, with a constant watering; and, if the eye is opened by force, the dog resists most strenuously, giving evidence of pain from exposure to the rays of the sun. This state resembles the "strumous ophthalmia" of children, and may be treated in the same way, by the internal use of tonics, the pills (62) being especially serviceable. In the ordinary ophthalmia the "white" of the eye is of a brighter red, and the lids are more swollen, while the discharge is thicker, and the intolerance of light is not so great. The treatment here which is most likely to be of service is of the ordinary lowering kind, exactly the reverse of that indicated above. Purgatives, low diet, and sometimes