Medicine: Dogman Damned

Albert Payson Terhune is a big, beefy man who cultivates untidy hair and a vast reputation for knowing and loving dogs. On the subject of Man’s Best Friend, he has written millions of well-paid words. Last week small Editor Morris Fishbein of the American Medical Association’s Journal editorially jumped roundly upon large Mr. Terhune for injudicious talk about rabies.

Dogman Terhune had published in the August issue of Reader’s Digest a brief essay entitled “Beware of the Dog” which consisted mainly of advice on how to avoid being bitten. A dog which comes up with high head and loud barks, observed Mr. Terhune, does not intend to bite. If the animal approaches with head down and low growls, it probably means to bite but will frequently be too puzzled to do so if the person stands with feet together and hands on chest. That dogs are inclined to attack people who are afraid of them Author Terhune ascribes to a “fear-smell” arising from increased production of adrenalin in the body. Dogs detect, recognize, hate and despise this odor.

With these techniques and theories, Dr. Fishbein had no quarrel. What he did object to was the following advice by Writer Terhune:

“If . . . you are bitten by a dog, remember this—not once in many thousand times is the dog rabid. Rabies exists, but it is very rare. Of the almost uncountable bites inflicted during a term of years on attendants in the New York City dog pounds, not one caused a case of rabies.

“If the bite is where your lips can reach it, suck it out thoroughly. Then bathe it in lukewarm (not hot) water and paint it with iodine. And don’t worry. You are in no danger. If you are afraid the biter had rabies—which he almost never has—use the same treatment but paint the wound with carbolic acid instead of iodine. . . .”

Denouncing this attitude as “subversive,” Editor Fishbein declared that dog bites are not matters for self-treatment but for physicians and public health officials. As against Mr. Terhune’s belief in the rarity of hydrophobia, he gave these data :

1) Of 1,922 dogs’ heads sent to Ohio laboratories for examination in two months, 416 revealed rabies infection.

2) Of 423 persons bitten by mad dogs in England in one year, 148 contracted rabies and died. Mortality: 35%.

“The least that can be done,” said Dr. Fishbein, “is to cauterize the wound and place the biter under observation in the city pound or a dog hospital. If he develops the disease, begin the Pasteur treatment at once if it has not already been started. … In 99 out of every 100 cases treated, Pasteur treatment protects against a disease that is always fatal once it develops.

“The first Pasteur treatment was given almost 50 years ago. . . . The failure of victims to avail themselves of this formidable weapon . . . can be attributed largely to ignorance, carelessness, indifference and the widespread dissemination of such advice as that found in Mr. Terhune’s article.”