[Introduction to Canine Pathology, by the Editor]
Predisposition to, and Causes of, Diseases in Dogs. — the Claims of Dogs upon us.
"Unnumbered accidents and various ills
Attend thy pack, hang hovering o'er their heads,
And point the way that leads to death's dark cave.
Short is their span, few at the date arrive
Of ancient Argus, in old Homer's song
So highly honour'd."
The dog from early youth, in fact oftentimes at the very period of birth, is exposed to many dangerous and troublesome affections, the result of causes not less complex and multifarious than those that exert an influence over the human organization. Many diseases are the consequence of their domesticity and the hereditary defects of their progenitors, others are dependent upon accidental circumstances, bad treatment, and improper nourishment. Not a few, however, of their most mortal maladies are the production of contagion, infection, and other like causes, all exercising a general tendency to disease difficult to define and impossible to avoid.
Although every species of dog is more or less subject to certain diseases peculiar to their race, those breeds of most value and more particularly subservient to the will of man are liable to a greater number of ills and casualties than other dogs, for the reason that they are more frequently exposed to unnatural fatigue, extremes of heat and cold, as also to the various dangers dependent upon the chase of wild animals. Those diseases resulting from specific causes, either natural to the race or artificially produced by the animal itself in a state of morbid derangement, are most frequent and fatal, as witnessed in distemper, rabies, mange, &c. The intimate connexion existing between the diseases of our canine friends and those of the human race, as also the strong similarity in the action of many drugs over the two systems, render the study of one branch almost synonymous with that of the other.
A little attention, therefore, on the part of the physician will render him quite familiar with and competent to relieve the many sufferings of these our most faithful and grateful of companions, and at the same time create an interest in a study that cannot fail to be productive of pleasure as well as information.
This
, though claiming the attention of many skilful and intelligent persons in England and other countries, has scarce been thought of among us, and the mere mention of an infirmary or hospital for the accommodation of invalid dogs, would involuntarily create a smile of incredulity or contempt upon the face of most of our countrymen. Notwithstanding this display of ignorance and positive want of humane feeling for animal suffering, or a just appreciation of canine worth, we must beg leave to inform these unbelievers that such institutions are quite numerous in many large cities of the old world; and they must also learn that these institutions are conducted by gentlemen of science upon a system not less regular and useful in this particular branch, than similar establishments appropriated for the relief of suffering humanity.