A few months ago a house dog belonging to one of
my patients became so severely
constipated that the case defied the best efforts of a local veterinary
and he diagnosed
obstruction. In their dilemma the family hesitatingly appealed to
me, not knowing just
how I would take the matter. It took but four or five doses of Nux
vomica 180m to cure
the little fellow completely. A few weeks ago he, by some means
or other infected one
of his feet and in spite of much licking, after the manner of dogs,
the infection spread to
the other paw as well as his mouth. All three situations not only
suppurated freely but it
was characteristic of the pus that it destroyed the hair wherever
it went.
I now began to fear that my former success would only be the means
of causing a
therapeutic failure because of my ignorance of the diseases of animals.
However, I
knew just where to find this very symptom which read as follows:
"Pus destroying the
hair—Lyc. Merc. Rhus." After the first dose of Rhus 1m
he went into a heavy sleep
which lasted all day, but he was better the next and in three days
was practically well;
the suppurating places having almost completely healed over. I would
respectfully refer
the results of this case to Dr. Chas. H. Duncan who, taking the
way of the dog as an
example, details "The Cure of Sepsis" by doses of its
own pus in the May number of the
Homoeopathic Recorder.
DISCUSSION
A. P. Bowie: There is a veterinary surgeon in
my town who is a thorough convert to
Homoeopathy. He is very anxious to take a veterinary course of medicine
in a
homoeopathic college. 'A few days ago as I was passing his hospita1
he called me in to
see a sick dog. The symptoms were great sensitiveness about the
anus. It was evidently
painful, for the dog was almost in spasms. Muriatic add cured very
rapidly.
R. F. Rabe: Nothing is more convincing to me
of the power of the homoeopathic
remedy than its effect upon the dumb animals. Some of the most convincing
cures upon
animals have been reported by Dr. Hundahl. I recall a young brewery
horse that came
down with rheumatism in the chest muscles; Rhus cured. An Irish
setter vomited food
without change; Kreosote promptly cured. My own horse, a pretty
old one, got the
heaves; the heart action was violent; Digitalis 100 cured and there
was no return. I
should like to see a chair of veterinary homoeopathy in our colleges.
W. H. Morgan: My horse became very sick with
very red, watery eyes; he seemed
to be in great pain. There was swelling under the legs. He stood
with the legs wide
apart. There were plenty of fellows about the livery stable who
knew all about it and I
was introduced to a veterinary. I preferred to take my chances in
treating him myself. I
found his mouth watery and tongue coated. I gave Mercury 200 three
times that day and
in the evening the horse was looking around for something to eat.
I drove him out on
the second day.
C. M. Boger: It would not do our colleges any
harm to have a veterinary chair. I
think it was a loss for them to cut out the dental chair. It is
very convincing to see
animals cured. There is no imagination in the dog. I cured a flock
of chickens of
chicken cholera without going out of the house.
President: My own horse used to have violent
attacks of colic; the first time I
called in a veterinary doctor, but the results were unsatisfactory
..I then watched the
case myself; he would get down and lay on his back with his four
feet going and
spinning around; there was marked sweating. Colocynth cured him.
Dr. Roberts: My old instructor, Dr. T. F. Allen,
was in favour of establishing a
chair of veterinary therapeutics in the college. I am not averse
to relieving the suffering
of dumb animals and it has usually been very easy. The horse is
extremely sensitive to
medicine, more so than any other anima1 that I know of. I saw a
horse suffering with
extreme colic once on the street as I was going by. I gave Colocynth
with rapid
improvement. It happened to belong to a prominent firm and I got
several families from
the incident.
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