to support the animal's weight, and cause it to stagger about; or the
lower jaw becomes more or less drooping, leaving the parched mouth
partially open. Emaciation rapidly sets in, and the paroxysms diminish
in intensity, while the remissions become less marked. The physiognomy
assumes a still more sinister and repulsive aspect; the hair is dull
and erect; the flanks are retracted; the eyes lose their lustre and
are buried in the orbits, the pupil being dilated, and the cornea dull
and semi-opaque; very often, even at an early period, the eyes squint,
and this adds still more to the terrifying appearance of the poor dog.
The voice, if at all heard, is husky, the breathing laborious, and the
pulse hurried and irregular. Gradually the paralysis increases, and
the posterior extremities are dragged as if the animal's back were
broken, until at length it becomes general; it is then the prelude to
death. Or the dog remains lying in a state of stupor, and can only
raise itself with difficulty on the fore-limbs when greatly excited.
In this condition it may yet endeavour to bite at objects within its
reach. At times convulsions of a tetanic character appear in certain
muscles; at other times these are general. A comatose condition
ensues, and the rabid dog, if permitted to die naturally, perishes, in
the great majority of cases, from paralysis and asphyxia.
In dumb madness there is paralysis of the lower jaw, which imparts a
curious and very characteristic physiognomy to the dog; the voice is
also lost, and the animal can neither eat nor drink. In this condition
the creature remains with its jaw pendent and the mouth consequently
wide open, showing the flaccid or swollen tongue covered with brownish
matter, and a stringy gelatinous-looking saliva lying between it and
the lower lip and coating the fauces, which sometimes appear to be
inflamed. Though the animal is unable to swallow fluids, the desire to
drink is nevertheless intense; for the creature will thrust its face
into the vessel of water in futile attempts to obtain relief, even
until the approach of death. Water may be poured down its throat
without inducing a paroxysm. The general physiognomy and demeanour of
the poor creature inspire the beholder with pity rather than fear. The
symptoms due to cerebral excitement are less marked than in the
furious form of the disease; the agitation is not so considerable, and
the restlessness, tendency to run away, and desire to bite are nearly
absent; generally the animal is quite passive. Not unfrequently one or
both eyes squint, and it is only when very much excited that the dog
may contrive to close its mouth. Sometimes there is swelling about the
pharynx and the neck; when the tongue shares in this complication it
hangs out of the mouth. In certain cases there is a catarrhal
condition of the membrane lining the nasal cavities, larynx, and
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