Daily Yellowstone journal., 1888-05-09
THE VETERINARY HOSPITAL.
Treatment for Sick Dogs-A Surgeon
Talks About His Cases-Hydrophobia.

lNlt hN NlN ~ "oit,s "a It NtuL
horses and dogs, the patients of the hos
pital, turned their heads to look after
him and whinnied or whined when he
passed. He wa DIR. A. III. Baker, who
holds the chair of theory and practice Of
veterinary medicine and surgery at the
hospital, and is one of the most success.
full and distinguished practitioners in his
line in the west.
''What sort of dogs make the best pa
t%ientSl'' was asked by an inquisitive re-
porter.
THE higher bred the dog is the better
1t stands the pain, as a general thing
replied the doctor. ''As for breed itself,
l 10 not know that there is any choice in
bravery under these circumstances. /
have seen a wee mite of a black and tan
exhibit as much foTtitude as a mastiif."
"What are the dogs oftenest treated
for!"
"'Oh, broken legs mostly, but dogs have
plenty of diseases in common with man.
They have pneumonia, kidney troubles,
tumors and cancers, and the goitre and
Indigestion, decay of the teeth, and throat
affections Of all sorts. l cannot help
referring 10 their intelligence while
under treatment. 1t is a constant
source of wonder TO me. You can give
them orders for the cure of themselves
which they will obey better than a human
patient will do. And the affection they
develop for the doctor is truly remarka-
BILE. know dogs that have recognized
me years after l treated them, and will
come barking about me with every sign
Of recognition and good will.
"We often have hunting dogs with
sore tails brought to us. The constant
switching of the tail against grass and
bushes causes tumors and other sores to
form on the end of it. These are ex-
tremely painful TO the dog, as we fire.
quently have to cut off three OF four
inches Of the bone. Tracheotomy has to
be frequently performed in treating dogs,
and, owing to improper indigestion, dogs
teeth frequently get out OF order. The
bites received on the legs during fights
~purPOscly or otherwise engaged in by
dogs often cause tumors that are apt TO
grow to dangerous proportions, and re-
quire delicate treatment to remove OF
cure.
''6roEen legs are very common with
dogs. The legs Of these little black and
tanS are like pipestems. One little fell
low jumped on his mistress back when
she was STOPPING down and fell off when
she arose. He broke both his forelegs.
/ did them up in starch bandages. and
the mite of a dog sat on his launches
and favored his broken limbs as intelli-
gently as if he had as much reason as a
man. When he became tired he would
whine and they would lay him on his
side. He as running around again in
three weeks.
''The bites which dogs SO often get
from one another we generally sew up
with a few stitches. A spaniel / at
tended on the West side had the pneu-
monia badly for three weeks. He was
nursed just as a human would have been,
dressed in a warm flannel shirt, poulticed
md fed q%uinine and febrifuges. In
creating dogs for diseases common also to
man, the patients receive equal doses Of
about the same medicine. The attach
ment Of people for their dogs is touching.
l have seen strong men break down and
cry like babies at the death Of a favorite
dog, and women cry nearly always under
the same circumstances. One lady had
Mysteries when | told her the dog was no
more.
lone splendid Newfoundland dog that
watched in a North side grocery store
was found one Sunday morning suffering
terribly from inflammation arising from
a terrible wound made by a crowbar.
Thieves had broken open the store, but
the dog had driven them of and not a
thing was missing. The crowbar
was found near the dog. He was
brought TO us, but although he
was treated Immediately, the pro-
gress Of the inflammation could not
be stopped n ID he died. l have his
skeleton. His pelt measured six feet
from the tip of his nose to the root Of his
tail. He was the largest Newfoundland
dog / ever saw. / treated a case of
goiter in a puppy on the North side. The
disease caused the dog to have convul-
sions, and, as is often the case, he was
thought TO be mad. The owner bought
some chloroform and was about to kill
him when the pup, which was feeling
somewhat better Just then, looked up
into his masters face with such a comical
expression that he postponed the execu-
ton. | came, gave the dog some inter-
nal medicine and a liniment, and in three
weeks the goiter disappeared, and to-day
he is healthier than ever before in his
life."
"Are not many dogs killed for being
mad which are not mad at alll"
''That is often the case. In all my
experience / have never seen but about
twenty cases Of genuine ~bydrophobia
among dogs and about five among horses.
hogs are quite subject TO commissions and
cts, and people Immediately jump at the
conclusion that the animals are mad and
have them killed, whereas some simple
remedy would cure them in a few hours.
There has recently been sent 10 me q
specimen Of a worm that is killing the
dogs In Florida, and I presume that / am
the only person in this country who pos
sesses a sample OF II. It Is very common
In China aud India, where dogs exist in
such numbers, and the disease often at
tacks the human race. Owing TO its
peculiar nature II is invariably fatal. and
/ regard IL only a question Of time before