Mad Dog (Rabies)

Mad Dog (Rabies) is a state of lethal disease that erupts in the quiet town of Maycomb during an unseasonably cold February, transforming the familiar pet Tim Johnson into a shambling, mindless threat and forcing the revelation of Atticus Finch's long-hidden skill as a marksman, which in turn reshapes his children's understanding of their father and of courage itself.

Onset and Symptoms

Tim Johnson, the liver-colored bird dog belonging to Mr. Harry Johnson and known as the pet of Maycomb, began to behave erratically one Saturday. Jem Finch, squinting down the street, noticed the dog moving in a way that was not like a playful animal: Tim Johnson walked as if his right legs were shorter than his left legs, reminding Scout of a car stuck in a sandbed. He was not running or foaming at the mouth, as Scout had imagined a mad dog would; instead, he moved at a snail's pace, dedicated to one course and motivated by an invisible force that inched him toward the Finch house. He shivered like a horse shedding flies, his jaw opened and shut, and he was alist, pulled gradually forward. Jem described the dog as looking for a place to die, but Sheriff Heck Tate corrected him: "He's far from dead, Jem, he hasn't got started yet." The dog's mind was so far gone that when he reached the side street in front of the Radley Place, he paused and seemed to consider which road to take, then made a few hesitant steps before stopping in front of the Radley gate and trying to turn around with difficulty.

Community Response and the Shooting

Calpurnia, after being summoned by Jem to observe the dog, immediately recognized the signs of rabies and ran the children home, shutting the wood door behind them. She telephoned Atticus's office and shouted, "I swear to God there's a mad dog down the street a piece," then called Eula May to warn the neighborhood. Every wood door within sight was closed tight. Calpurnia ran to the Radley Place, banged on the front steps, and shouted, "Mr. Nathan, Mr. Arthur, mad dog's comin'!" but no one acknowledged her warning. When Atticus and Sheriff Heck Tate arrived in a black Ford, the sheriff carried a heavy rifle and wore a belt with a row of bullets. He and Atticus waited on the porch as Tim Johnson came into sight, walking dazedly in the inner rim of the curve parallel to the Radley house. Mr. Tate, after assessing the situation, handed the rifle to Atticus, saying, "Mr. Finch, this is a one-shot job" and that he could not shoot that well. Atticus, who had not shot a gun in thirty years, took the weapon and walked into the middle of the street. He pushed his glasses to his forehead, dropped them, and heard them crack in the silence. In front of the Radley gate, Tim Johnson made up what was left of his mind, turned around, and raised his head, his body going rigid. With movements so swift they seemed simultaneous, Atticus yanked a ball-tipped lever as he brought the gun to his shoulder. The rifle cracked, and Tim Johnson leaped, flopped over, and crumpled on the sidewalk in a brown-and-white heap, dead before he knew what hit him. Mr. Tate squatted over the dog and tapped his finger on his forehead above the left eye, calling, "You were a little to the right, Mr. Finch." Atticus replied, "Always was. If I had my 'druthers I'd take a shotgun." He stooped, ground the broken lenses of his glasses to powder under his heel, and stood looking down at the dog.

Revelation and Aftermath

The shooting revealed a hidden dimension of Atticus that his children had never known. Jem, paralyzed with shock, later became vaguely articulate, describing how Atticus had stood there and "all of a sudden he just relaxed all over, an' it looked like that gun was a part of him... an' he did it so quick, like." Miss Maudie Atkinson, grinning wickedly, told Scout that Atticus Finch had been "the deadest shot in Maycomb County in his time" and that his boyhood nickname was "Ol' One-Shot." She explained that when he was growing up at Finch's Landing, if he shot fifteen times and hit fourteen doves, he would complain about wasting ammunition. When Scout asked why he never went hunting now, Miss Maudie said, "If your father's anything, he's civilized in his heart. Marksmanship's a gift of God, a talent... I think maybe he put his gun down when he realized that God had given him an unfair advantage over most living things. I guess he decided he wouldn't shoot till he had to, and he had to today." Jem, however, insisted that they not talk about it at school, reasoning that if Atticus had wanted them to know, he would have told them. "Atticus is a gentleman, just like me!" Jem called back as he threw a rock jubilantly at the carhouse. The incident also connected to the broader theme of courage in the novel: Atticus's quiet, unboastful skill stood in contrast to the town's gossip and the children's earlier shame about their father's age and apparent feebleness. The dog's body was collected by Zeebo, who used a pitchfork to lift it onto the garbage truck and poured something from a gallon jug on and around the spot where Tim fell, warning the children not to come near for a while because the dog was "just as dangerous dead as alive."