Blog post by Randi Richardson
It was mid-August 1923. The people of Stinesville were alarmed when a number of dogs living in the neighborhood went mad. One of those dogs belonged to R. M. Snooks who lived half mile east of Stinesville. When R. M. noticed his dog had symptoms of the disease, he tried to save it by administering an antidote. During the course of his effort, the dog bit him badly.
A few days later his wound became inflamed which prompted him to consult with two Gosport physicians. They referred him to a pathologist in Indiana who diagnosed him with hydrophobia and immediately started him on a series of painful injections known as the Pasteur treatment. Although R. M. was permitted to return to his home on Sunday, August 19, after having taken a treatment every day for days, he was still required to take 18 more treatments to rid himself of the deadly poison in his blood. Many dogs died during the epidemic.
Sources: Bloomington (IN) Evening World, August 21, 1923, p. 1.