In dogs the symptoms of rabies are sullen ness, fidgetiness, and continued shifting of position. The dog seems to see things in the air, which he gazes at, follows, and snaps at. His appetite is perverted. He swallows bits of coal, wood, &c. Saliva streams from his mouth, and hangs in sticky strings from it, disturbing him and causing constant efforts with paws to get rid of it. He makes a hawking noise in the effort to clear the throat and mouth. His bark is hoarse, and eyes bright. There is evi dently intense thirst, and the dog has no fear of water, for he often buries his muzzle in water at the height of the attack; but he cannot drink owing to paralysis of muscles, or spasmodic irregular movements of theni. He bites any thing that comes in his way, and may thus in a short time infect other dogs, cats, and other animals. Finally the dog reels and staggers, his hind-legs and lower jaw lose their power, and he dies in convulsions or from exhaustion.
Treatment. — Whenever a person is bitten by a suspicious animal the circulation of blood ought at once to be stopped, for a brief period, in the bitten part, by tying a tight band, if it be a limb, above the bitten part, and carefully washing the bite and allowing it to bleed freely. As soon as possible--immediately, if
possible—the part should be burned. A hot iron, poker, &c., may be freely and deeply used, or nitric acid painted lightly over the place with a brush, and then wiped off with a sponge and cold water. Attempts to treat the disease have failed. Attempts may be made with chloral hydrate, in from 10- to 30-grain doses, to keep down the spasms. The patient should be kept very quiet in a dark, still room. Per sons in attendance ought to be careful, since a bite from a patient, or the spit of the patient cast on the attendant, may impart the disease.
Pasteur showed that the poison of hydro phobia was located in the spinal cord of rabid dogs, and be was able from the cord to make a preparation which, injected into a person who had been bitten, hindered the development of the disease. Institutes called Pasteur Institutes have since that discovery been erected in most countries for the treatment of persons suffering or likely to suffer from hydrophobia.