The Dog. Dinks

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СКАЧАТЬ the nose is certain to be the part whence the deflexion will issue. No positive dependence, therefore, can be placed upon the discharges from the eye or nose. The eye, nevertheless, is certain to denote that which is on the eve of happening. The pupil may be small; and when it is so, its decrease of size will be marked, and it will have little disposition to enlarge. This, however, is rarely witnessed. Generally the pupil is much enlarged, so much as to conceal the iris, and alter the character of the organ. The eye is moreover retracted, and the dog has a very peculiar expression of mingled pain and stupidity. If the hand be placed upon the head, it will be sensibly hot. No matter how thick the coat may be, the heat will be apparent, and the carotid arteries will sensibly throb. The coat feels dry and is warm, although the animal may be trembling to such a degree as prevents the pulse being counted. Yet the dog seems lively; it is active now, though perhaps a little while ago it was dull; every trivial circumstance now attracts its notice. The appetite is generally ravenous. The dog which only the day before was disinclined to feed, is suddenly disposed to eat more than it ever was known to consume; and it will gnaw and swallow the hardest wood for want of better provender. The amended appetite is mostly one of the symptoms, but it is not invariably witnessed; for occasionally increased activity, and the strange appearance of the eye, are all that indicate the approach of fits. It will not be long, however, before something shall be added which is more definite in its meaning. The dog which was running about suddenly stands still, and begins to smack its lips and champ its jaw. It keeps stationary while doing this, and continues so until a quantity of froth and thick saliva falls from the mouth, drops upon the ground, and then the action ceases. The animal looks around with a vacant stare, evidently not conscious where it is, and starts away, hitting itself perhaps against anything which may oppose its progress. If caught it struggles to get loose, and may even bite the hand which, when conscious, it would perish to defend. Almost immediately, however, it regains its faculties, and then seems quite as well as it appeared to be before the attack came on. It may continue subject to be thus seized for several days; or soon after the first attack, fits or convulsions may start up. During the champing colic may set in, which will only yield when the fits are established. The duration of the champing is not regular; it may be only for a few moments, or for several minutes. The attacks may be no more than one or two in the day, or twenty may occur in a single hour. Generally they remain about three days, but here also there is no rule. I have known them to be present for a week, and also to exist only for a few hours. In these latter cases the condition of the dog is generally not understood. It is taken out for a long walk, or it is indulged with a hearty meal; and in the middle of the one, or shortly after the other, it begins to champ, utters a loud sharp cry, which is suddenly cut short as if the animal was choked. The eyes glare, the mouth is open, and before perfect insensibility ensues, the dog bites at every object near it, then falls down convulsed, the limbs stiffen, the head is drawn back or twisted to one side, the urine and dung are voided; and a slate of unconsciousness, which may cease in a few minutes, or continue for hours, during which the body is in contortions, and the saliva flows freely from the mouth, stretches the poor brute upon the earth. When this is over, the dog recovers as from a trance, being always disposed to ramble, and should its strength permit, will start away at its utmost speed. There is neither to the number nor duration of these fits any limit; they may be few or frequent, and long or short. The second may end the life; or every five minutes, nay oftener, they may occur, and the animal survive for days. Any excitement will bring them on, and the passage of the fæces invariably is accompanied by an attack. Diarrhœa always begins when they commence, and the dog soon loses strength, and lies upon its side unconscious and incapable of motion; the pulse is not to be felt, and gradually without a struggle it expires. Let no man, however, be hasty in saying positively when death has taken place. Often has the life seemed gone, for the heart has been still; but minutes afterwards the animal has gasped, and then began to breathe once more. Death, however, comes at last, for if the dog sinks to such a state, I have never known it to revive.

      A pustular eruption is often witnessed during the existence of distemper, and I have not seen the same phenomenon distinct from the disease. The two appear to be united, and yet we do not know the manner in which they are connected. The other symptoms are not mitigated when the pustules are matured, nor does their appearance denote any particular crisis or stage of the disorder. I have, however, most frequently seen them towards the latter or confirmed stages of distemper, and often they have immediately preceded the fits. The first indication given is a little redness, which is strictly local or confined to a particular spot. This place is not very red, but, nevertheless, it is obviously inflamed and tender; there is not much swelling, but a slight hardness can be detected. A day or two afterwards the redness dies away, and a globular eminence, perfectly round, and generally about the size of a split pea, is beheld. If it be opened, a proportionate quantity of thick pus of a healthy character escapes, and a comparatively large incrustation forms over the part; if not opened, the pustule bursts and the scab follows, but larger than in the previous case. Mostly the eruption appears on the belly and inside of the thighs, but it is seldom strictly confined to those parts. Often it affects the trunk and tail, but does not usually attack the head and fore-limbs. There is no proof that any benefit attends its development, or any known reason for attributing it to any cause; save only such as can be drawn from the statement, that I have commonly observed it in pups of a weakly constitution and emaciated condition.

      The disposition to eat or gnaw some part of the body is often shown to an alarming degree, but is seldom exhibited save in the latter stage of the disease. The dog is observed to lick one of its paws, or mumble at its tail, for some days. The part is always one of the extremities, and is evidently tormented with a violent itching which cannot be allayed. The animal at length, irritated by the torture, attacks the member with its teeth. The skin is first removed, and then the flesh. The mouth may be covered with blood, the teeth clogged with hair, and the very bones attacked; but the pain which the sight of the mangled surface suggests to the spectator seems not to be felt by the dog, which appears desirous only of destroying its own body. I have known two of the toes of one fore-paw to be thus consumed, so that amputation was afterward imperative, portions of the metacarpal bones being laid bare. In several instances the root of the tail has been eaten, until the sacrum and first tail bones, with the nerves, were exposed. The rage cannot be overcome, and, unless the disposition be prevented by mechanical means, the consequence will be fatal. No author that I am acquainted with has noticed this peculiarity; and in general it is attributed to other causes than distemper, which is either not observed, or is supposed to have been got over.

      Tumors on various parts of the body, and of different kinds, sometimes but not usually accompany the disease; but as I have not been able to satisfy myself they are peculiar to the disorder, or induced by any other cause than the debility attendant on distemper, there is in this place no occasion to more than point out the possibility of their appearance. They are unfavorable as indications of general weakness, but they do not seem to possess any further or direct influence over the course of the affection.

      The genital organs rarely escape altogether. A thick purulent discharge, or one of a glairy nature, is often present in the male throughout the attack, and nearly always during recovery. In both sexes the bladder in the latter stages is apt to be paralysed, and the accumulation of the urine then becomes a prominent symptom. The recovery often commences after relief has been obtained, but if the necessity be overlooked, death generally ensues.

      Paralysis of the hind extremities is occasionally witnessed, and when seen is generally sudden in its appearance. Sometimes, however, the loss of power is gradual, and when such is the case the hopes of a cure are always diminished. If the power of motion be lost suddenly, costiveness mostly exists; and if, on the other hand, it should be gradual, there may be diarrhœa, which will terminate in death.

      Twitches, choræa, or Saint Vitus's dance, are not very usual, and may continue for months after every other symptom has subsided. All four limbs are sometimes violently agitated, and even during sleep are not quiescent. The motion is incessant, and when this is the case the animal dies, worn out by the want of bodily rest. In the majority of instances only one limb is affected; and a species of independence of volition, or incapability of controlling its movements, accompanies the affection. Though never still, the leg is comparatively useless, and is carried in a manner СКАЧАТЬ