Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 90, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 15 April 1911 — DOG PRONOUNCED MAD BIT MANY OTHER CANINES. [ARTICLE]

DOG PRONOUNCED MAD BIT MANY OTHER CANINES.

Head of Animal Sent to State Laboratory—AH Dogs Ordered Muzzled —Killing Begun. Rensselaer and surrounding country is in the midst of a real mad dog scare. It may or may not develop in serious consequences, but is sufficiently menacing to cause the authorities to take immediate action to curb an outbreak. Readers of The Republican will recall that an item appeared in this paper about two months ago concerning a dog that passed through town and that snapped at’and bit every dog that it came in contact with and that Marshal Mustard undertook to kill it. Among the. dogs bitten was a black Shepherd dog belonging to Harrison Timmons, the express wagon driver. The dog did not seem to be affected until last week when he began acting peculiarly, became sullen at first and then started out to bite every dog that he came in contact with. How many dogs this was, Mr. Timmons does not know,' but possibly twentyfive or even fifty.* The latter part, of the week the dog disappeared from home and did not come back for two days. When he did he was all chewed up, evidently having fought with every dog he had come across during his roaming through the country. He was- very cross when he reached home and Mr. Timmons soon decided thgt he was in no shape to run about the streets and locked him in the barn. He called Marshal Mustard Wednesday afternoon and they decided to kill the dog. When the marshal went to go into the barn the dog growled and made a charge at the door and the marshal retreated and killed the animal through a crack in the door. The head was severed from the body and sent to the state laboratory and this Saturday morning a report was received stating that the animal had rabies or hydrophobia. The marshal and the secretary of the city board of health held a conference and decided that immediate action was necessary as it would be tell where the disease might break out. Many dogs had been bitten and Mr. Timmons thinks the number may be as high as fifty. The period of incubation of the disease may be. any time from a few days to several weeks and a general muzzle order was decided upon. The plan is to begin killing after Monday and all dogs that are not muzzled or kept fastened up will become victims of the marshal’s firearms. AH persons who have dogs and wish them killed can bring them to the fire engine house and a place for the killing will be arranged in the lot back of that building.