DO DOGS FAINT?

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 67, 19 March 1932, Page 2 (Supplement)

DO DOGS FAINT?

A little Pomeranian dog was trotting along beside its owner in tlie Zoological Gardens at Pertli 111 Australia when, turning a cornel', a white Polar bear confronted them on the other side of a barrier. The dog gave one glance of terror and collapsed in a faint. We do not as a rule associate fainting fits with animals, but there is 110 doubt that their nervous sys.tems reaet to sudden shocks as do our own. A typical instance of this is seen in the scorpion, which is supposed to sting itself to death when surrounded by a ling of fire. It neither stings itself nor does it sham death. It faints. Spiders and many insects do the same, and the fascination to which animals are subjected by their deadly foes is a form of immobility df the nervous system due to sudden friglit. A shock will often cause a momentary stoppage of the heart's action. This stoppage causes a faint, and this is what happened to the little Pomeranian at the Perth Zoo.