The mad dog, or, hydrophobia, with all its various symptoms, causes, and remedies, minutely described / by Lewis Feuchtwanger.

  • Feuchtwanger, Lewis, 1805-1876.
Date:
1840
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The mad dog, or, hydrophobia, with all its various symptoms, causes, and remedies, minutely described / by Lewis Feuchtwanger. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

    5/16
    New. York, June 22d, 184(7, To the Hon. Isaac L. Varian, President of the Board of Health, and Mayor of the City of New-York, Sir, The undersigned, for the last twelve years a resident in this city, takes the liberty to address you on a subject of vital importance to the inhabi- tants of New-York ; in the hope, that, with your accustomed magnanimity the communication may be presented for the consideration of the Board of Health. It is well known that man bitten by a mad dog is attacked with that disease called Hydrophobia ; for the cure of which among the various nos- trums of the day, nothing radical has as yet been discovered, and the only resource that appears to be left us by Providence to prevent the occur, rence of so ravaging a disease, is in the old adage, that a grain of pre- ventive is worth a pound of cure. Having at hand the laws of the Prussian government on the same sub- ject, he takes pleasure in translating the Royal Edict verbatim, and al- though the free government under which we live, in this happy country, does not give the authorities power to inflict such severe penalties as- those inforced by a monarchical Potentate ; yet you may perhaps, after a perusal, devise similar wholesome laws without personal punishment ; and by that means, save the lives of many an innocent victim during the sea- son. The Edict reads as follows ; We, &c, &c, &c, do ordain that every proprietor of a dog, or one who has the charge of a dog either for feeding, dressing or other purpose, on discovering the symptoms of the first stage of madness, shall kill him immediately ; in case of neglect, and the dog being seen at large, when in the second stage of madness, the proprietor or guardian of the dog when detected; although the dog should not have produced mischief, shall be fined in the sum of twenty-dollars, and if unable to pay, to be im- prisoned for four weeks, and no pretence whatever shall be accepted in> mitigation of this our Edict ; the same fine shall be imposed upon any one who was aware that his dog was bitten by a mad dog and refuses or neglects to kill the same ; and if he transfers such a dog to another per* son ; as the shepherds frequently do; the fine shall be increased to triple the amount.